Challenges
by Laney 916
Summary: Rina and Masahiro have finally admitted their love. Now four years later, they must overcome their next challenge, marriage. But it can’t be any harder than defeating the water demons, right? Sequel to Piece of Love.
1. Chapter 1

_**This is Saki Hanajima-chan and Awesome Rapidash with another kickass Mermaid Melody fic. It is the sequel to our first Mermaid Melody story, Piece of Love. **_

_**Dedications-**_

_**To our loyal fans who keep encouraging us to keep writing and for the awesome reviews. You guys rock!!**_

_**Thanks to**_ _**candie1206**_ _**for betaing for us. We couldn't have done it without you. **_

_**Summary: Rina and Masahiro have finally admitted their love. Now four years later, they must overcome their next challenge, marriage. But it can't be any harder than defeating the water demons, right? Pairings: Rina/Masahiro, Lucia/Kaito, Hanon/Nagisa, Nikora/Maki-san, Caren/Subaru, Hippo/Yuri and many others.**_

_**Warnings: Language, Sexual content, drug/alcohol use, violence, and crude humor. Not for kids, so if you're underage or are uncomfortable reading that kind of thing, get out of here now. Also, there are references to other TV shows, movies, and even spoilers from the Mermaid Melody anime/manga.**_

_**Disclaimer: We don't own Mermaid Melody or its characters. We only own the story and any characters we created.**_

_**Challenges**_

_**Chapter 1: Marriage**_

_-Flashback-_

_Masahiro pauses for a moment in front of his curious girlfriend. He looks around and then drops to one knee and takes Rina's hand. She gasps in shock as she realizes what he's about to do._

"_After hearing what Aisu said after your battle with her I realized that there is only one most important person in my life and that's you." He begins nervously. "So now on bended knee I humbly ask for you to become my wife. Rina, will you marry me?" He places the ring, which belonged to his mother, on her finger, kissing her hand sweetly._

_Rina stands there for a moment, paralyzed from the shock of Masahiro's proposal. As she regains control of her thoughts she looks at the young man before her and smiles. "Yes Masahiro, I will marry you." She replies as happy tears stream from her eyes._

_-End Flashback-_

It has been four years since the day Masahiro proposed to Rina. They are still together and deeply in love with each other.

Rina and Masahiro decided that they would marry when Rina turned eighteen and had finished school. Now she was finally finished with high school and was very excited about marrying Masahiro. They set the wedding date for the Sunday after Halloween.

The day of the wedding arrives quickly. Rina is in her bedroom at Pearl Piari getting dressed. Lucia and Hanon help her as she puts on a beautiful white satin gown with spaghetti straps. On the bottom of the gown are silver and green beads which sparkle as they are hit by the bright sunlight shining from the window. A tiara made from white roses sits on top of her head and her long green hair is down with loose curls at the ends. On her feet, she wears a pair of see-through stiletto heels. Her make-up is very simple; she only wears a clear lip gloss which is all the make-up she really needs, if any.

"You look so beautiful, Rina!" Lucia says, admiring the dress which Nikora had helped Rina choose and the make-up which was done by Hanon.

"Thanks, Lucia." Rina smiles at the pink Mermaid Princess, giving her a warm hug. "You look good too."

Lucia steps back and admires herself in the mirror. She runs her hand across the soft pink fabric of her bridesmaid's gown. The gown was strapless and a soft pink in color. The pink Princess's hair was in a style similar to how she wears in her idol form. She has white open toed high heels on and a pair of soft pink gloves.

Hanon's dress is an exact copy of Lucia's except it is aquamarine in color, reflecting the color of her kingdom.

"Are you nervous?" Hanon asks curiously noticing Rina's shaking fingers.

"Of course she is, silly." Lucia chimed in. "I remember how nervous I was when Kaito and I got married."

"Am I really that bad?" The green pearl Princess asked in a worried tone.

"Nope, just like I'd expect." Nikora said as she walks into the room. "It's natural to feel the way you're feeling." She added. "Just remember to breathe when you're at the altar."

Everyone has a good laugh and it helps Rina with her nervousness.

In another part of the Pearl Piari, Masahiro gets ready as well. Helping him is his best friend from school, Keita and Masahiro's father, Ichiro.

"Dude you are one lucky guy." Keita begins as he helps Masahiro with his tie. "Rina-Chan is a really special girl."

Masahiro smiles to himself. "_If only you knew just how special._"

"I'm very proud of you son." Ichiro begins. "It's certainly a big step in a man's life when he gets married."

"I know that, and I'm ready to accept those responsibilities." Masahiro replied.

Ichiro glances at his watch and smiles. "It's time to go."

Masahiro, his father, and Keita walk into the beautifully decorated main room of the Pearl Piari. Together, they walk up to a small stage and step up onto it. There they are greeted by the Pastor of a local church, who smiles at the lucky young man.

With a quick signal Mitsuki-sensei, or Taro-chan as Hanon calls him, begins to play the wedding march on the piano.

Masahiro can feel his breathing increase and he struggles to keep it under control. Anxiously he watches as the doors at the back of the room open.

The first one in is the flower girl Mikaru, now seven years old. She has a cute yellow dress on and a bright blue flower decorating her hair. As she walks up to the stage she scatters rose petals along the aisle.

Next to enter are the maid of honor Noel and the bridesmaids. Seira and Lucia are first, followed closely by Hanon, Caren and Coco who are all wearing the same outfits, only in different colors. Maki, Nikora's husband, walks in with an amazingly beautiful Rina. Nikora follows behind with Hippo, in his human form, as the ring bearer. Together they make their way up to the stage.

Once there, Rina takes her spot in front of her soon to be husband.

"Please join hands." The Priest says as he begins the ceremony.

For the most part, Masahiro's mind is numb and the whole ceremony seems to go by in a blur. That is, until the most important part.

The Priest looks at him intently. "Understand that in the course of your lifetime together there will be good as well as bad times. You will have to endure sickness to enjoy good health, and you will experience happiness as well as sorrow. With that in mind do you Masahiro take Rina to be your wife?"

Masahiro smiles happily and answers the question. "I do."

A similar question is posed to Rina, who looks at Masahiro lovingly. With tears of joy welling up in her eyes she answers. "I do."

"I now pronounce you husband and wife." He pauses for a moment and smiles at the happy couple. "You may kiss the bride." He adds.

Rina and Masahiro embrace and share their first kiss as husband and wife amid the cheers and applause of their family and friends.

As the reception begins the happy couple prepares to cut the wedding cake. It's a magnificent seven layered cake with a base of snow white Icing. Each layer is colored differently, matching the seven pearls of the mermaid Princesses.

Masahiro cuts the first wedge out and hands it to his wife.

Several hours later, everyone is enjoying themselves at the reception. Coco, who has had a bit too much cake, is walking towards the refreshment table. She is focused on getting something to drink and not paying attention to where she's walking.

Bang! She accidentally bumps into someone, knocking them both off their feet.

"Oh, please excuse me!" She says in a giggly voice. "I didn't see you there."

"That's OK." A man whom she recognizes as Masahiro's friend Keita says. "No harm done." He adds with a chuckle.

"Oh, you're Masahiro's friend." Coco says as he helps her to her feet.

"Yep, my name is Keita by the way." He replies happily.

"I'm Coco, pleased to meet you." She giggles.

"Would you like something to drink?" Keita asks the yellow Princess curiously.

"Sure, that's why I was in such a hurry to begin with." Coco answers as she eyes the refreshment table.

On the other side of the room, Seira is enjoying a plate of cookies when she sees an older boy staring at her. At first she just ignores him but he walks over to her and much to her displeasure, he begins to talk.

"Hey cutie, my name's Hideki, what's yours?" He asks, flirting with her which only ends up infuriating her.

"That's for me to know and you to never find out." Seira replies bluntly hoping he'd get the hint.

Undeterred, Hideki tries another approach. "Can I have one of your cookies?" He asks.

Seira is about to say no when he just playfully reaches out and takes one.

"Hey, those are mine!" She retorts loudly. "I didn't say you could have one. Go get your own!"

"But you were going to say I could, weren't you?" He remarks sarcastically, returning the cookie to the plate.

"Like hell I was." Seira replies angrily. She can feel her cheeks flush with embarrassment at having used a swear word.

"Oh, you're a spunky girl." Hideki laughed. "I like a girl with spunk."

"Well I find you annoying, so leave me alone!" Seira adds in an aggravated voice.

Undeterred by Seira's lack of interest, Hideki continues to try and talk to the young orange pearl Princess. Eventually his determination pays off and Seira, realizing that he isn't such a creep after all, begins to talk to him. Just before the end of the party, he boldly asks her out on a date. Much to his surprise and happiness, she accepts.

Meanwhile, Rina and Masahiro are in another part of the room socializing with friends and family.

"Hey Lucia-chan, how's Kotaro?" Masahiro asks as the pink pearl Princess and Kaito walk over to congratulate them.

"He's doing really well." She answers happily.

"How old is he now?" Masahiro asks curiously.

"He's four months old." Kaito replies, noticing that Lucia is now engaged in a conversation with Rina. "Congrats and welcome to the 'ball and chain club'." He adds with a laugh, referring to being married.

A young child's babbling catches everyone's attention.

Rina looks down and sees Tai, the year and a half old son of Nikora and Maki looking up at her. She melts instantly as his big dark blue orbs look at her curiously.

"Oh Tai, you're so cute!" Rina exclaims as she picks the toddler up causing the boy to begin giggling merrily. She laughs with delight as she spins Tai around in circles.

"That's a good look for you Rina." Nikora says as she walks over to the green haired girl. "Have you and Masahiro-kun talked about children yet?" She asks curiously.

"Not yet really." Rina replies softly. "We wanted to wait until after we were married before we talked about that."

"Well that sounds like a good plan." Maki agreed. "That's the way we did it as well."

"Congratulations Masahiro-kun." Maki says as he extends his hand to the green haired young man.

"Thank you Maki-san." Masahiro says as he accepts the elder man's hand and shakes it heartily.

The party lasts until around 2 in the morning with Coco and Keita and Rina and Masahiro sharing the final dance together.

The following morning Masahiro's father drives the pair to the airport where they will depart for their honeymoon in Jamaica.

Once on the beautiful tropical paradise, the happy couple decides to go to the beach and enjoy themselves.

"Wanna go swimming?" Rina asks her husband curiously.

"Do you think it will be alright, I mean so nobody sees your mermaid form." He says cautiously.

"Not to worry." Rina answers happily. "I have a friend that can help us." She adds and steps aside to reveal a young girl around 15 years of age. She bears a striking resemblance to Rina in that she has long green hair, although not as long as Rina's, and a seashell locket around her neck.

"My name is Sasha." The young girl begins. "I bring you a warm welcome Masahiro-san, from the kingdom of the North Atlantic ocean.

"That means that…." Masahiro's voice trails off and both girls smile at him.

"Yes, I was sent here to welcome her Majesty, Princess Rina-sama and her beloved husband." She says in a proper voice. She then bows in respect.

"How did you know we'd be here?" Masahiro asks curiously.

"Last week we received a notification from Princess Hanon-sama." Sasha explained. "She told us of your impending arrival and I was dispatched to meet you and provide any assistance that you may require."

Masahiro looks at his wife and smiles. "Guess she knows a good place for a swim."

"Oh yes of course!" The girl squeals merrily. "There is a nice secluded beach just a short walk from here. It has a wonderful reef and many species of colorful fish."

They follow Sasha for about an hour until they arrive at a beautiful white sand beach. As predicted the beach is all but deserted.

"Please enjoy yourselves!" Sasha says as she gets ready to leave. "Oh, you might need this Masahiro-san." She adds, removing a scuba diving mask and some flippers from her back pack.

Once Sasha is gone, Rina happily heads into the ocean with Masahiro following right behind her.

Her transformation takes only seconds and she happily swims about, stretching out her tail.

Masahiro swims over to her and she looks at him and smiles. "Wanna see more?" She asks curiously, pointing to the world beneath the waves.

"Sure, but I can't hold my breath that long." He replies.

"No problem, just squeeze my hand when you need a breath and I'll get us right to the surface." Rina says happily.

Masahiro agrees and takes a couple of deep breaths. He nods his head and together with Rina he disappears beneath the water's surface.

Under the water he is amazed to see the beauty of it as all kinds of colorful fish swim about, seemingly un-phased by their intrusion.

They swim over to a coral reef and gaze at the fish swimming around it. Masahiro begins to feel like he is running out of air. He gives Rina's hand a quick squeeze and she swims up to the surface.

"It's so amazing down there!" Masahiro says after catching his breath. "I never realized it could be so beautiful."

"I'm glad you like it." Rina replies happily. "Would you like to see even more?" She asks hopefully.

"You bet I would!" Masahiro replies enthusiastically.

For the next hour Rina and Masahiro explore more of the undersea world.

As the honeymoon draws to an end, they begin to talk about the topic of children. On the last night of their stay, Rina is laying on the bed relaxing when she is joined by Masahiro.

"Rina, I was thinking about kids today." He says and gently begins to kiss her neck.

"I was too." She replies, returning the affection by kissing her husband deeply.

They continue their petting and it soon escalates into something more.

"Umm, are you sure you're ready for this?" Masahiro asks as he takes a position on top of Rina.

"Yes, I've dreamed about this since the first time we had sex." She replies sounding a little nervous.

They continue the cuddling for a little while longer, easing her anxiety.

"I'm ready." Rina moans in her husband's ear. "Please do it now." She adds as she spreads her legs to accommodate her husband.

Masahiro moves over and positions himself for sex. He leans forward and kisses Rina deeply and gently inserts his penis into her. She lets out some pleasure-filled moans as he thrusts himself into her continuously.

Rina's legs wrap around his waist and he starts to thrust into her quicker. Their breaths get shorter and more frantic as time goes on, panting and gasping for air as they continue to make love. She wraps her arms around his neck and hugs him lovingly.

He increases his pace again and she cries passionately as she begins to climax. He too begins to climax a moment later. He thrusts into her again and releases his seed into her. He pulls out of her and they embrace each other, falling asleep in each other's arms.

_**Hope you like the story so far. Excuse the bad lemon. We aren't very good at writing them. We think we did a good job though. Next chapter will be out soon. We already have up to chapter 6 planned out so it shouldn't take us as long to update as it did with our previous story.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Here's another chapter. Enjoy!**_

_**Challenges**_

_**Chapter 2: Unexpected Surprises**_

One month has elapsed since Rina and Masahiro's wedding. Rina is in the kitchen cooking lunch for Masahiro and herself when the phone rings. Distracting her from what she's doing, she turns off the stove so the food doesn't burn and runs across the room to answer the phone.

"Hello, this is Pearl Piari, Rina speaking. May I ask who's calling, please?" Rina answers politely.

"Rina-san!" The voice on the other line says. Rina immediately recognizes the voice as Hippo's.

"What is it, Hippo?" She asks curiously.

"I ran into that boy Hideki and he wants to know if he can come over and see Seira." Hippo explains.

"What! No! No way!" Rina shouts, remembering what happened the last time he came over. "I don't want him here. Last time he was over, he almost destroyed the place!" She adds angrily.

"But he said it's very important." Hippo argues and reluctantly, the green pearl Princess gives in.

"Fine, but if he starts to destroy the place again, he's gone." She adds before saying good-bye and hanging up the phone.

Rina then heads back over to the stove to finish cooking lunch. The food is just about ready to be served when Masahiro comes down the stairs. He sees Rina standing in front on the stove walks over to her and gives her a warm hug.

"That looks great." Masahiro says, kissing Rina on the lips.

"Thanks." She replies happily.

"But not as good as you." He adds playfully.

Rina blushes at the comment and begins emptying the food from the wok onto a couple of plates.

After finishing their lunch, Rina and Masahiro sit down in the living room in front of the TV, cuddling up to each other on the couch. Just as they are getting comfortable, a loud knock is heard on the front door.

"I'll get it!" Seira yells, running out of her room to answer the door. When she opens the door, she sees Hideki standing there and lets him in.

"Thanks Seira." He says, kissing the orange pearl Princess on the cheeks. "Do you mind if we hang out here?" He questions curiously.

"Yeah, sure, let's go!" Seira replies and leads Hideki up to her room to hang out. Meanwhile, Rina and Masahiro continue to cuddle up on the couch and watch TV.

"I don't trust Hideki." Rina says plainly. "He's way out of control."

"Yeah, but we hardly know him so it's really not fair to pass judgment on him just yet." Masahiro replies.

"Well, I still don't like him." The green pearl Princess replies.

For the next hour, Rina and Masahiro continue to watch TV and snuggle warmly on the couch.

"Eh, what's that smell?" Rina says curiously as she sniffs the air. "It smells like something's burning."

Masahiro takes a moment and sniffs the air curiously. "Hmm, it might just be someone barbecuing next door."

"Well, just to be safe I'm gonna check it out." Rina says as she gets up from the couch.

"OK, if you need me, give me a yell." Masahiro says as he settles back down on the couch.

Rina walks into the kitchen but finds that the smell only gets fainter there. She heads back out into the living room and notices the smell intensifies as she heads toward the stairs. A worried feeling runs through her as she fears there might be a fire in the hotel.

"It wasn't in the kitchen." She informs her husband. "I'm going to check upstairs." She adds as she begins to walk up the stairs.

As she nears the top of the stairs she hears Hideki and Seira laughing loudly. She also notices that the smoke smell seems to be coming from the orange pearl Princess's room. Quietly she walks over to the doorway and peers inside. What she sees causes her blood to begin to boil. Sitting in the middle of Seira's room is Hideki with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Worse yet, she sees Seira holding a cigarette as well!

She is about to charge into the room and kick the shit out of Hideki when he picks up the phone and dials a number.

"What are they up to now?" Rina ponders curiously.

"Is it on speaker?" Seira asks as she watches Hideki dial.

Yep, it sure is." He chuckles. "This is gonna be a riot!"

Rina listens as the phone is finally answered.

"Hello, Billy Bob's Saloon, Billy Bob speakin'." The voice on the other end answers.

"Hey, can you check and see if Mr. Wiener is there?" Hideki replies, fighting to keep from laughing.

"A Mr. Wiener you say?" The saloons owner questions curiously.

"Yeah, his first initials are I.C." Hideki informs Billy Bob.

'Hold on and I'll check." Billy Bob replies. "Hey, is there an I.C. Wiener here?" He shouts loudly, repeating the question several times.

In the background, the sounds of the bar's patrons laughing hysterically can be heard. Billy Bob, realizing that he's just been duped, shouts loudly into the phone.

"Hey you little asshole, if I ever find out who you are, I'm gonna gut you like a fish and serve you to the dogs!"

Hideki and Seira fall over laughing as he hangs the phone back up.

Rina has had enough and storms into Seira's room.

'What the hell is going on here?" She shouts angrily.

"Umm, nothing's going on here." Seira replies, trying to sound innocent.

"Like hell nothing's going on." Rina says as she walks over to Hideki. "I can't believe what I just saw you two doing." She adds pointing to the phone.

"That was a riot, don't you think?" Hideki replies in a smartass tone. "Billy Bob is such an idiot. He falls for that every time." He chuckles, unaware that he is only making Rina madder.

"You little ass! Prank calls are mean!" Rina yells loudly. "You both should be ashamed of yourselves." She then turns her attention to the cigarette in his mouth. "What are you doing smoking in here? We told you last time this hotel is smoke free."

Seira takes a drag of the cigarette between her lips and exhales the smoke. She immediately begins to cough loudly. A wave of nausea washes over her as the nicotine in the smoke affects her senses.

"Ugh, this totally sucks. Why Hideki likes this so much I'll never know." She muses to herself, putting her cigarette out and tossing the butt out the window.

"Hey Hideki, can you please put out your cigarette too?" She asks, still feeling the lingering effects of the nicotine. "It's sort of making me sick."

Hideki looks at Seira and after taking another couple of puffs, he puts out the cigarette and discards it out the window. He looks over at the orange pearl Princess. "Are you happy now?" He says semi sarcastically.

Seira nods her head yes and turns her attention back to Rina.

Rina simply glares at them angrily.

"Ah, quit being such a pain in the ass Rina-chan." Hideki says nonchalantly. "You're no fun at all."

Rina is now almost blind with rage and turns to Seira. "I never want to see you with him again!" She screams at Seira loudly. "He's rotten to the core and I don't trust him."

Seira gazes at the green pearl Princess with a look of contempt on her face. "Who the hell made you my mother?" She retorts angrily. "I can do whatever I want to."

"Not if I have anything to do with it." Rina shouts back. "He's nothing but trouble."

"Well, I love him and if I wanna see him then I will." Seira replies as she shoves her way past Rina and storms out of the room. Hideki follows right behind her, leaving the green pearl Princess by herself.

"Ugh, it stinks in here." She says as she walks over to the window and opens it as far as it will go. The lingering smell is making Rina's stomach queasy so she leaves the room to air out and heads back down to the living room.

"I heard yelling. What happened up there?" Masahiro asks curiously as Rina rejoins him on the couch.

"I caught Hideki and Seira making prank phone calls and smoking." She says in a voice that's evident that she's still quite pissed off.

"Really, was Seira smoking too?" Masahiro asks sounding slightly shocked.

"Yeah, smoking is so nasty it makes me want to puke." Rina says bluntly. "It really pissed me off seeing that."

"Where are they now?" Masahiro questions intently.

"I have no idea." His wife replies sharply.

"Well what's done is done." Masahiro says softly pulling Rina against him lovingly. "Just try and relax and forget about it."

Rina smiles back at her husband. In Masahiro's embrace she can feel the rage level in her body steadily declining. Soon she is completely relaxed and watches TV with her husband.

As Christmas approaches, Rina seems to have caught the flu or a stomach virus. Her personality seems to have changed as well and Masahiro has taken note of this. Masahiro does what he can to comfort his wife. However, the hormonal changes going on within her body causes her to angrily snap at him.

Masahiro is just about to ask Rina what's wrong when she suddenly clamps her hand over her mouth. She gets up and runs for the bathroom where she begins to throw up violently. Masahiro quickly joins her and helps by holding her long green hair out of her face.

After several minutes she gets back up and walks over to the sink. She grabs the mouthwash and rinses her mouth out, attempting to rid herself of the nasty aftertaste lingering on her tongue.

"Are you alright Rina?" Masahiro asks his wife curiously.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She replies softly. "Sorry for snapping at you, I don't know what came over me." She adds in an apologetic voice.

"It's alright." Masahiro replies. "As long as you're OK that is." He adds, wrapping his arms around Rina lovingly and kissing her.

Several days go by and Rina still feels quite under the weather, her mood swings also haven't improved. The other mermaids have noticed this as well and decide to ask her about it.

"Hey Rina, we've noticed that you've been sort of moody here lately." Lucia begins. "Do you have morning sickness too?" She adds curiously.

Rina blushes deeply at Lucia's question. "Well, I have had to throw up in the morning if that's what you mean." She answers plainly.

Lucia smiles and whispers something in Hanon's ear. The aqua Princess giggles and does the same to Coco.

"Hey what are you guys whispering about?" Rina asks in an alarmed voice.

"Oh, it's nothing." Coco replies in an innocent sounding voice. She then leans over and whispers something to Caren, who looks at Rina and begins to giggle.

A combination of not knowing what's being said about her and her out of control hormones causes her to snap.

"I wanna know just what the hell is so damn funny!" She shouts loudly. "Now tell me or else!"

Lucia looks over at her friend and smiles. "We think you might be pregnant, that's what."

The other mermaids nod their heads in agreement and smile at the green pearl Princess.

"What?! No! No fucking way!" She shouts. "You can't be serious!"

"But you have all the symptoms." Coco says plainly. "It seems pretty obvious to us what the matter is."

Once again her hormones rage out of control. "Since when are any of you doctors? How do you know what's wrong?!" She screams angrily.

"Well I went through the same thing when I was pregnant with Kotaro." Lucia answers directly.

"Well you're wrong!" Rina retorts loudly. "I'm most certainly not pregnant! Now just leave me the hell alone and mind your own business." She adds before storming out of the kitchen and up to her room.

The mermaids look at each other and chuckle knowing that their friend is just in denial right now. They do however decide to leave her and her raging hormones alone about it.

The remainder of the week passes and Rina begins to wonder if what her friends said could be true. She walks out of her room and over to Noel's room. She knocks on the door, hoping the aiiro pearl Princess is there.

"Yes, who's there?" Noel says as she gets up to answer the door.

"It's me. Rina. Can I talk to you about something?" Rina asks hopefully.

"Sure, please come in." Noel answers, holding the door open for her friend. "What's up?"

Rina walks over and sits down on a chair next to Noel's bed. She looks over at her friend with a confused look on her face. "I think I might be pregnant." She says softly.

A broad smile crosses Noel's face and she gets up and goes over to Rina and hugs her. "That's wonderful!" She adds happily. "Have you seen the doctor yet?"

"No, not yet." Rina replies. "I really didn't believe it 'til just a short time ago."

For the next two hours Noel and Rina talk about babies, married life and things in general.

"You really do need to see a doctor." Noel says as she gets up and walks over to a desk next to the phone. She takes out a piece of paper and hands it to Rina, who accepts it curiously.

'What's this?" She asks, looking at the phone number written on the paper.

"It's the phone number of the doctor that delivered Lucia and Nikora-san's babies." Noel explains. "She knows that we're mermaids and is prepared to handle any trouble that may develop as a result of the conception between a mermaid and a human."

Rina looks at the paper. "Maybe I should wait a little longer." She says unsure of what to do.

"No, if you are pregnant you need to know." Noel replies. She then gets up and takes the piece of paper and walks over to the phone. She picks up the receiver and dials the number. She then hands the phone to Rina. "Now make an appointment." She says plainly.

With no choice, Rina makes an appointment for the next day, Christmas Eve. She hangs the phone back up and looks at Noel. "You will go with me right?" She asks hopefully.

Noel smiles at her friend. "Of course I will." She says happily.

That night, Rina has a difficult time sleeping; She tosses and turns as she worries about what the doctor will say. Masahiro notices this but decides that it's just her stomach bothering her again.

The next day just after lunch Rina and Noel head over to the doctors office. It takes them 30 minutes to walk there. Noel holds the door open and a visibly nervous Rina walks inside. After checking in they take a seat in the waiting room. Noel does the best she can to help calm Rina's nerves.

"Mrs. Hamasaki?" The nurse questions and Rina stands up. "Please follow me." She says in a friendly tone. Rina looks back at Noel who gives her a 'thumbs up'.

The examination takes about an hour to complete and afterwards a smiling Rina walks back into the waiting room. Noel gets up and joins her.

"Well, what did she say?" The aiiro pearl Princess asks, her curiosity almost getting the best of her.

Rina looks at her friend and smiles. "She said I'm pregnant." She says as tears of joy form in the corners of her eyes.

Noel embraces her friend happily. "I'm so happy for you!" She replies. "Come on let's go shopping to celebrate!"

Later that night Rina and Masahiro are sitting in front of the Christmas tree. Rina looks at her husband curiously.

"Masahiro, what do you think about having kids?" She says in a nervous voice.

Her husband looks at her and smiles. "I'd like to have kids." He begins. "I love to play with Kotaro and Tai, and would like a child of my own too."

Rina stands up and removes what looks like a blurry black and white picture from the pocket of her jeans. She hands it to her husband who accepts it curiously.

"What's this?" He asks as he examines the picture. All of a sudden it hits him what it is. "Is this …"

Rina cuts him off. "It's our child." She says happily. "Masahiro, I'm pregnant!"

"Oh my god, I'm so happy!" Masahiro shouts loudly. He then wraps his arms around Rina and kisses her passionately.

They continue to kiss and eventually retire to the bedroom and make love to celebrate the wonderful news.

_**Hope ya like it! We'll update soon.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Thanks to those who have read and reviewed our story, we love to hear your comments!**_

_**Challenges**_

_**Chapter 3: A Precious Gift**_

Rina sits on the couch with a small bowl of fruit on her lap, munching on it as she glares at the TV. The green pearl Princess is watching one of her favorite comedy shows. She chuckles softly at the program. However, something else weighs heavily on her mind.

She looks down at her still flat stomach and gently caresses it, knowing that a new life is beginning there. A wave of overwhelming happiness flows over her and before she can stop it, she begins to cry.

Masahiro, who has just returned from his daily workout at the gym walks into the TV room and hears his wife crying. Concerned, he quickly joins her on the couch.

"Rina, what's the matter?" He asks in a concerned tone. "Why are you crying?"

The green haired girl looks over to her husband and smiles. "I'm just so happy, that's all." She replies.

Masahiro moves close and pulls her into a loving hug. "Just as long as everything's alright."

Rina nods her head and returns her husbands embrace. "It really helps knowing that you're here for me." She says happily.

"You can always count on me, sweetie." Masahiro replies, smiling happily at his wife. He gently places his hand on her stomach, and as he does, a mixture of excitement, nervousness, happiness, and worry invade his mind. He is happy and excited that he is about to be a father, but at the same time, he is nervous and worried since this is going to be his first child and he is inexperienced.

"I love kids, but am I truly ready for this? Will I be a good father?" He wonders. He gently embraces his wife and she leans against him, her head resting comfortably on his chest.

Rina and Masahiro continue to cuddle in each other's arms watching TV for almost an hour until Rina once again clamps her hands over her mouth and runs into the bathroom. Masahiro follows her, holding her hair out of her face as she empties the contents of her stomach into the toilet. The sound of her being sick fills the room. Several minutes later, she begins to feel better and she grabs the mouthwash, rinsing the horrible taste from her mouth.

"Damn! This sucks. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy."

Later that afternoon, Rina, Nikora, and the other mermaid Princesses are hanging out in the garden of Pearl Piari. They talk about random things like boys and sex for a while until Lucia and Nikora notice that Rina seems to be deep in thought, not paying any attention to the conversation.

"Hey Rina, is something the matter?" Lucia asks curiously. "You look so deep in thought."

"Huh, what did you say?" Rina replies having only partly heard the pink Princesses question.

"Heehee, I asked if you were thinking about something." Lucia says. "But you didn't hear me."

"Sorry Lucia, I guess my mind is on something else." The green Princess replies.

"It's understandable for you to be nervous." Nikora adds. "After all, this will be your first child."

"Yeah, I can remember how nervous I was." Lucia chimes in. "I was kinda scared too."

"Thanks you guys." Rina says with a smile. "It really helps me to know that I have your support with this."

"Hey don't forget about us!" Coco says as she leans over Lucia's shoulder. "We may not have had kids yet but we can still cheer you on." she adds with a playful wink.

"Yeah Rina, you have us to help you too." Caren says as she and Noel join the other mermaids at the table.

"Thanks everyone, it really makes me feel better knowing that I can count on you." Rina says in a somewhat relieved tone.

With that the mermaids continue to chit chat about a variety of topics for the remainder of the afternoon.

Several days pass and Rina is relaxing on the couch, she looks down at her still flat belly. _"I wonder if I'll be a good mother."_ She muses curiously. _"The very thought of it is just so intimidating."_

"Hey Rina, how are you today?" Coco asks curiously as she walks into the room.

"I'm doing fine, thanks." Rina replies. "Are you going somewhere?" She asks, seeing that the yellow pearl Princess is nicely dressed.

"Yep, I'm going on a date with Keita." She chirps merrily. "He's picking me up in a few minutes." She adds glancing at the clock on the wall.

A car's horn is heard outside the hotel and Coco heads towards the door. "See ya later Rina!" She says as she opens the door.

"Yeah, have a good time!" Rina replies as she lies back down on the couch to wait for Masahiro to return from the gym.

Outside, Keita greets Coco happily. "Wow you look fabulous Coco." He says happily as he admires the yellow pearl Princess's low cut dress.

"Thanks." Coco replies happily. "So where are we going tonight?" She asks curiously as she gets into his car.

"I thought we could grab something to eat and then maybe have a nice walk along the shore." He answers cheerily. "Does that sound alright to you?"

"It sounds fine." Coco answers happily. "Do you mind if we eat American food? I heard about this new place that just opened and they're supposed to have the best ice cream around."

"Yeah, that sounds cool." Keita replies as he drives away from the Pearl Piari.

They arrive at the restaurant and after a short wait are seated in a booth near the front of the eating establishment. The waitress takes their orders. Coco orders a double cheeseburger with a side of onion rings and Keita orders an Italian beef sandwich with a side of coleslaw. As they sit and wait for the food to arrive they talk about this and that.

After enjoying a nice meal and a sharing a large ice cream sundae they drive over to the beach. There they stroll along the cool sandy shore.

"I really love the sea." Keita says as he watches the waves breaking on the shoreline. "The air is always so fresh too." He adds looking over to Coco and smiling. "It reminds me of you."

Coco smiles back at the young man walking next to her. "Thanks I really love the sea too." She replies happily. _"If you only knew just how much."_ She giggles softly to herself.

Keita slowly takes hold of Coco's hand gently. Coco accepts the boy's hand and interlocks her fingers with his. She turns and looks at him and bats her eyes in a flirty way.

They walk for about an hour before returning to Keita's car. Just before they get in, Keita puts his arms around Coco's waist and gently pulls her closer to him.

"Umm…, I was wondering." He stammers softly. "Ah, um…, ah…, do you mind if I ….." He begins but Coco's kiss cuts him off.

It only lasts for a few seconds but it is enough for both of them.

Coco looks at the starry eyed young man standing in front of her. "You wanted to ask if you could kiss me right." She coos softly.

Keita nods his head and smiles back at the pretty blonde haired mermaid. "Yep, that's what I wanted to ask." He chuckles.

They end the embrace and climb in to the car for the short drive back to the Pearl Piari. Once there Keita gets out and opens the car door for his date. Coco climbs out and stands in front of the young man, placing her arms around him happily.

"So, would you like to go out with me again?" Keita asks hopefully.

"Sure, I had a fun time." Coco begins. "Also you're a good kisser." She adds with a teasing smile.

The happy couple embraces once again and share a passionate good night kiss. Coco waves good-by as she watches Keita drive away. After he is out of sight she walks inside.

Several weeks have passed and Rina is just beginning to show. She looks down at her tummy, happy about the tiny life taking form in there.

She goes about her daily work in the hotel, dusting and cleaning the rooms. After getting the rooms done she heads downstairs to the kitchen for a snack. As she does so she hears the sounds of someone making out in the TV room. Irritated and expecting to find Coco or Caren with their lovers, she walks into the room. What she sees infuriates her.

Seira and Hideki are on the couch making out. But what really bothers her is the fact that not only does Hideki have his shirt off but Seira does too! She can feel her blood begin to boil as the badass boy plays with the orange pearl Princesses boobs.

"What the hell are you two doing?" She shouts loudly.

Both teens look over at the angry Princess standing in front of them with a look of shock on their faces.

"Shit! We're busted." Seira mumbles, realizing they have just been caught in the act. She quickly picks up her shirt, putting it on.

"Umm, Rina-chan what are you doing here?" Hideki asks in an innocent voice.

"Stopping you two from fucking up your lives, that's what!" Rina retorts angrily.

"Come on Rina-chan, why do you always have to be so uptight all the time?" Hideki replies back to Rina sarcastically.

"Yeah Rina, why do you always have to mess with my life?" Seira adds, starting to become angry.

"Because sex is a big responsibility, that's why!" Rina yells back. She can feel her hormones beginning to take over and control her emotional state. "You two are much too young for it."

Seira is confused about what Rina is saying and angrily runs out of the room.

Hideki just shrugs and gets up and walks nonchalantly over to the chair and picks up his shirt. "I suppose I should go and find her." He says in a very sarcastic voice. "And thanks to you I won't be having any fun either."

That's the final straw for the overly hormonal green pearl Princess, and she snaps.

"Hideki you fucking prick, if I catch you doing that with Seira again I'm gonna rip your dick off and shove it down your damn throat!" She screams.

She feels like she's going to attack the annoying teen but just gives him a death glare as she heads out to find Seira.

As he watches Rina leave, he makes a mental note to stay clear of Rina and her 'hormones from hell.'

Rina runs out of the hotel and looks around for the orange haired girl. She finds her sitting in the garden crying.

Rina walks over to her and Seira looks up at her as she approaches.

"Are you gonna yell at me some more?" She asks in a hurt voice. "Because if you are, then just go the hell away!" She adds angrily.

"I just wanted you to know that you shouldn't have sex at your age." Rina retorts, trying desperately to bring her raging hormones back under control.

"Why are you so damn concerned about what I do anyway?" Seira questions back.

Rina, finally having gotten herself back under control, looks at the orange haired girl in front of her. "It's because I care about you." She replies softly.

Seira is taken aback by Rina's answer. "Why do you care so much?" She asks in a curious tone.

"It's because as mermaids we all share a special bond with each other, that's why." Rina answers as she sits down next to Seira. "I'm sorry I yelled at you two back there. I just kinda lost control of myself." She adds softly.

Seira thinks about the apology for a long moment and then looks at Rina. "I accept your apology." She begins. "But I still love Hideki and I will continue to see him." She adds plainly.

Rina, not wanting to further upset the orange pearl Princess, decides to drop the topic and begins to talk about something else. The move works and they spend the next hour and a half just chatting about stuff.

Afterwards, Rina gets up and heads into the kitchen to prepare Masahiro's dinner. As she does, she silently curses herself for letting her hormones get out of control.

_**Sorry for taking so long to update. It's a little short, but it still turned out pretty good. We hope you like it.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You guys rock! **_

_**Challenges**_

_**Chapter 4 **_

The bright morning sun shines through the windows of Pearl Piari, rousing the green pearl Mermaid Princess from a deep sleep. She sits up and yawns. She groans softly as she glances at the alarm clock sitting on the night table next to the bed. It is 7:30 AM and it's time to wake up. She looks down at Masahiro, shaking him gently to wake him. He gets out of bed, gets dressed, and makes his way downstairs to begin to make breakfast. Rina decides she needs a shower and heads into the bathroom.

She pulls the shower curtain over as far as it will go, turning on the shower as she steps into the tub. She sighs as she transforms to her mermaid form. The steamy water caresses her body and runs softly down her emerald green tail. She reaches over and grabs the shampoo. Pouring a small amount into her hands she replaces the bottle on the shelf. The sweet scent of strawberries fills the room as she rubs the shampoo into her hair. After rinsing her hair thoroughly she takes a bottle of moisturizing body wash and pours some of it onto a clean, wet rag. She then starts moving it along her body, after washing herself and gently scrubbing her tail, she rinses herself off. When she is satisfied, she rinses one last time and steps out of the shower. She dries herself off and transforms back into her human form. She then makes her way back into the bedroom to get dressed.

Downstairs, the smell of pancakes, bacon, and syrup lingers in the air as Masahiro finishes cooking. He puts everything onto a few serving dishes, puts them on the table, and sets plates for Rina and himself. As he finishes, he is greeted by his wife as she wraps her arms around his shoulders, embracing him gently. He returns the hug and they both sit in their seats and start eating their breakfast.

"Mmm… This is so good." She compliments as she swallows the last mouthful of pancakes on her plate.

"I'm glad you like them." Masahiro replies happily, taking the dirty dishes and loading them into the dishwasher.

"Are you ready to go?" Rina asks, grabbing the car keys and walking towards the front door.

Masahiro nods yes and follows his wife to their black 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. He takes the keys from her and they get into the vehicle. He starts the vehicle and drives towards the hospital.

Masahiro looks over at Rina and notices a somewhat apprehensive look on her face.

"Are you nervous about something?" He asks her curiously.

"Ah, not really." Rina stammers. "It's just that I…, well…"

"It's alright, you don't need to explain." The green haired young man replies. "Everything will be fine."

"I know it will be but still…," Rina sighs softly.

It takes them a few minutes to arrive at the hospital. After finding a place to park they walk into the hospital's maternity ward and sign in before they take their seats in the waiting room, to wait for the doctor to call them. They only have to wait for about ten minutes and a young female doctor in a white lab coat calls their names. Rina and Masahiro get up and follow the blonde haired doctor into her private office.

"Hello" The doctor says warmly, a friendly smile on her face as she shakes hands with Rina and Masahiro.

Masahiro helps Rina onto the padded examining table. The doctor grabs a medium-sized white bottle from one of the cabinets and walks over next to Rina.

"OK, Mrs. Hamasaki, let's have a look, shall we." She begins. Please lift up your shirt."

Rina lifts up her green Happy Bunny t-shirt with the words 'Cute but psycho. Things even out.' on the front and Dr. Takato applies a cold clear gel on her stomach. The Doctor then turns on the ultrasound unit and begins moving the transducer over the green pearl Princess's abdomen.

She checks how well the baby is developing as well as for abnormalities. Everything seems normal and she continues the ultrasound. Rina and Masahiro watch in excitement as they see their child moving around on the monitor.

"The baby looks great." Dr. Takato informs them. "Would you like to know the sex?" She asks curiously.

Rina first looks at Masahiro to ask if he wants to know too. He nods his head yes and Rina gives the doctor permission to tell them. Smiling, Dr. Takato moves the transducer again and stops a couple seconds later.

"It looks like you're gonna have a little girl." She says, examining the image carefully.

Rina and Masahiro laugh happily as they embrace.

"I told you so!" Rina says jokingly as she looks into her husband's eyes.

"Yep, I should have known better than to have doubted you." Masahiro replies, sounding a bit embarrassed. Rina just smiles happily.

The doctor completes the ultrasound and prints out a copy of the baby's picture and hands it to Masahiro.

"Do you have any questions for me?" Dr. Takato asks Rina curiously.

Rina looks at the doctor intently. "I was told that you are a mermaid, is this true?"

Dr. Takato is a bit surprised by the question but smiles back at Rina.

"Yes I am." She replies. "I come from the kingdom of the South Pacific Ocean." She adds happily. "Please give Princess Coco a greeting from me the next time you see her."

"Sure, we can say hi for you." Rina answers happily. "We'll probably see her later tonight."

Rina smiles at the doctor and thanks her for the information.

Dr. Takato uses a cloth and some alcohol to clean off the gel from Rina's stomach. Rina then pulls her shirt back down and gets up off the table.

"I will need to see you again in three to four weeks, so please stop by the receptionist on your way out and make your next appointment." The doctor says as she turns the ultrasound machine off.

Rina and Masahiro thank the doctor and head towards the door. After stopping and making Rina's next appointment they walk back to their car and drive home, excited to tell everyone else the news.

"You know what?" Rina begins. "I think I'll have Coco come with us next time so Dr. Takato can meet her."

"That would be a nice thing to do." Masahiro replies. "I'm sure she wouldn't be expecting it."

For the remainder of the trip home they simply listen to the radio and watch the scenery go by.

Once they get back to the Pearl Piari Rina can hardly contain herself. Excitedly she exits their car and heads inside.

The first person she sees is Nikora.

"Hey Nikora-san!"

"Hey Rina. How did it go? Did you find out the sex of the baby yet?"

"It went great. I'm going to have a girl!" She says happily.

"That's so sweet Rina-chan, I'm so happy for you and Masahiro." Nikora says in reply.

"Have you seen anyone else?" Rina questions hopefully.

"The only other person here right now is Coco-chan." The purple haired mermaid answers. "She's in the TV room."

Rina walks to the TV room and sees the yellow pearl Princess sitting on the couch watching something. She walks in and sits down next to her.

"Hi Rina, you sure look cheery." Coco says happily. "Something good must have happened today." She adds.

"It did." Rina begins. "You're gonna have a niece!"

"That's wonderful news!" Coco replies in a cheery voice. "Have you thought of names yet?"

"Well Masahiro and I have been considering some but haven't narrowed it down yet." Rina answers plainly.

"Oh, by the way," she says, looking at the blonde haired mermaid next to her. "Would you mind coming with me the next time I visit the doctor?"

"I don't mind." Coco replies. "But why do you want me to go with you?" She adds curiously.

"Well you already knew that our doctor is a mermaid since she helped deliver Lucia and Nikora-san's babies." Rina explains. "It seems that she's from your kingdom and I thought it would be a nice surprise for her to meet you."

"Oh that would be fun!" Coco giggles happily.

Rina gets up and walks out of the room and back to the living room. There she finds Masahiro talking to Nikora. Masahiro sees her and walks her up to their bedroom.

"I'm a bit tired and I think I'm going to lie down for a while." Rina says as she lies down on the bed. "Please wake me up for dinner."

Masahiro nods his head in acknowledgment and goes into the kitchen, turning his attention to the newspaper.

A knock on the door draws his attention back out of the day's current events. He puts the paper down and walks over to the door. Opening it, he finds Noel standing outside.

"Nikora-san said that you wanted to talk to me?" She inquires in a pleasant voice.

"Yes, please come in." He replies and shows the aiiro Princess to the table. "Would you like some tea?" He questions curiously.

"Yes, some tea would be nice." Noel answers happily.

"Where's Rina?"

"She's taking a nap right now." Masahiro replies. "And that's good since I wanted to talk to you."

Noel looks at him with a curious expression on her face.

"Sure, what's up?"

After finishing the tea he pours it into two mugs and walks back over to the table. After setting one of the steaming mugs down for Noel, he puts his down and takes a seat across from her.

"I know that you and Rina share a deep friendship." He begins explaining. "And I was wondering if you'd mind if we used your name as the middle name of our daughter. We were also hoping that you would be her Godmother as well."

Noel is a bit surprised at the request and takes a moment to re-gather her thoughts before answering.

"I'd be honored for you to use my name and to become your child's Godmother."

"Thank you Noel, Rina will be very happy when I tell her." He says happily.

"I'll be happy about what?" A still blurry eyed Rina asks as she walks into the kitchen area.

"I asked Noel about using her name as part of our daughter's name and being the Godmother and she said yes." He replies happily.

Rina glares at her husband angrily.

"It was supposed to be our secret." She says plainly.

"Hey don't worry, I can keep a secret." Noel chuckles happily. "I never did say anything about all those cookies we used to sneak when we were children, now did I?"

The thought of sneaking cookies with Noel returns a smile to Rina's face.

The next week and a half pass without much happening. Seira continues to see Hideki and their friendship continues to strengthen in spite of Rina's continued protests. She still sees him as a punk and a delinquent but she also knows that Seira is falling in love with him.

However, one night at dinner, things get interesting. Coco and Keita have been dating since Rina and Masahiro's wedding and their relationship has steadily improved during that time.

"Mmm… that was a delicious meal. Thank you Nikora-san." Keita says as he finishes up with his dinner. "And now that everyone has finished I have something to say."

Coco looks at her boyfriend curiously.

"What's up Keita?" She asks intently.

She gets her answer a moment later as Keita moves in front of her and drops down on one knee.

"Coco, I love you more that anything in this world and I would like to ask you to marry me?" He says, breathing a huge sigh of relief at the fact that he got what he wanted to say off his chest.

At first, a look of shock covers Coco's pretty face, but she quickly regains her composure and with tears welling in the corners of her pretty golden eyes, she gives her boyfriend her answer.

"Yes, I'd love to marry you!" She answers in an ecstatic voice. Keita pulls Coco into a loving embrace, kissing her passionately on the lips and she returns her fiancé's affection.

Everybody takes turns congratulating the new couple and wishing them well. As dinner finishes, everyone helps to clear the dishes and then they retire to the living room to continue celebrating Coco and Keita's engagement.

_**Enjoy! Next chapter will be done soon, so keep your eyes out for it. Our chapters will get longer again. Stupid writer's block keeps getting in our way so we had to end it here or otherwise, this chapter would be way longer. Lol!**_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

_**b iThanks to Vianna for your nice review of the last chapter. We really love to hear what you have to say! **_

_**Warning: Lemon in this chapter! No kids allowed! So, you little ones better scram! Lol**_

_**Chapter 5: Celebrations/b /i**_

Rina walks into the dining area of the Pearl Piari and smiles at all the colorful streamers and balloons hanging about. She sighs softly as she gently runs her hand over her ever growing belly. In a few hours, everyone would be here to help Kotaro celebrate his first birthday.

The green haired Princess walks over to the fridge, opens it and looks inside. After a bit of rummaging she settles on a bottle of water and some fresh watermelon. She walks over to the table, sits down and takes a large sip of the ice cold water before eating the watermelon.

Hanon walks into the kitchen a moment later. "Hi Rina, how are you doing today?" She asks curiously.

Rina looks up and smiles at her friend. "I'm feeling good today. Yesterday the baby was so active I could barely do anything."

"Oh, well at least she's active." Hanon chirps back. "I remember Lucia always complained about that too." She adds with a grin.

"Yeah, it's kinda hard to believe that Kotaro is already a year old." Rina says before taking another sip.

"Yep, it sure is." The aqua Princess agrees merrily.

Their conversation is cut short as Nikora and Lucia walk into the kitchen and over to them.

"Everything looks so cute!" Lucia giggles as she examines the colorful decorations.

"I agree. Rina and Hanon did a good job, don't you think, Lucia?" Nikora asks the pink pearl Princess curiously.

"Yep, you guys did great! Kotaro will love it. I'm sure." Lucia replies happily.

The mermaids join Rina and Hanon at the table and spend the next 45 minutes just chatting about random things.

A couple hours later, Rina and Masahiro once again walk into the Pearl Piari's dining area. However, this time she is greeted by a large crowd of people. In her hands, Rina is carrying a brightly wrapped gift. She walks over to a balloon filled table and places the gift next to all the others. A few seconds later, she sees the pink pearl Princess and goes over to her.

"Hey Lucia, where's Kotaro?" She asks curiously. "I want to wish him a happy birthday."

"He's over there with Kaito." Lucia giggles happily. "I'm sure he wants to see you."

Rina walks over to where Kaito and Kotaro are sitting, and as she approaches Kaito turns around and smiles. "Hi Rina-chan, how are you?" He says, standing up to greet the green pearl Princess.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking." Rina chirps back. She then turns her attention to Kotaro, who is busy playing with a toy monster truck.

She kneels down next to the boy, who looks more like his father than his mother, and smiles.

"Happy Birthday Kotaro-chan!" She says happily.

The young orange haired boy looks up at Rina and squeals in delight, showing the green pearl Princess the blue monster truck that he has been playing with. Rina giggles and ruffles the boy's hair playfully before standing back up.

"You're going to make a good Mommy." A voice behind her chuckles happily.

Even without looking, Rina recognizes the voice as that of her best friend Noel. She turns around and smiles at the deep blue pearl Princess.

"Do you always have to sneak up on me like that?" She asks. "I mean even when we were kids you always did that to me."

Noel laughs at her friend's comment.

"It was just so cute to see you and Kotaro like that and I didn't want to spoil it." She answers simply.

Rina smiles back. "Well I suppose I can let it go this time."

"Thanks. Come on let's get something to drink." The deep blue Princess suggests hopefully. "Nikora made some of her famous lemonade."

The two mermaid Princesses walk over to a large table colorfully decorated with streamers and balloons. In the center is a frosted cake with the words 'Happy B-day Kotaro' written in light blue icing.

Noel grabs two cups of lemonade and hands one to Rina. She then takes a couple small sips.

"Mmm…, this is so refreshing." She says before taking a few larger sips.

Rina agrees after sampling the lemonade herself.

Another hour goes by and everyone is having a good time.

After watching Kotaro open the last of his presents, Nikora and Maki stand up.

"Could I please have everyone's attention for a moment?" The magenta haired mermaid asks.

It takes a couple of minutes for everyone to settle down, the whole time Nikora is smiling happily at her husband. Once everyone has finally quieted down Nikora takes hold of Maki's hand and giggles.

"What's up Nikora-san?" Lucia asks curiously, noticing the fact that Nikora seems to be beaming about something.

"I just wanted to tell everyone that our family is going to be growing. I found out that I'm expecting, and this time the doctor says it's twins!" She says in an exuberant tone.

"Wow, that's super news!" Caren says happily. "Congratulations!"

"Yeah, we're all so happy for you." Rina adds with a broad smile.

For the next hour and a half everyone sits around the table and talks about the joys of having kids and how they look forward to seeing them all grow up together. After a while though, the kids begin to get cranky, largely due to the fact that it's getting late and they are overly tired. Rina too feels a bit tired and together with Masahiro they say good night and head back up to their room. As they go, they discuss getting a place of their own.

"You know, Coco and Keita just bought a new house and I was thinking that we should be looking as well." Rina says as Masahiro opens the door to their small room. "It will be too difficult to raise a baby in this place. There's just not enough room." She adds before sitting down on the couch.

"I agree." Masahiro replies. "Maybe we could talk to Coco and Keita and see which realtor they used." He adds, sitting down next to Rina.

"Yeah, I'll give Coco a call in the morning." Rina chirps back.

"That sounds good." Masahiro agrees. "Now I don't know about you but I'm pretty tired and think I'm gonna hit the sack."

Rina agrees and follows her husband into the bedroom. She turns the light off and lies down next to him. Masahiro wraps his arms around the green pearl Princess and kisses her deeply.

"I love both of you so much." He says before gently kissing Rina's swollen midsection. "Good night Rina. I love you." He adds as he cuddles up next to her.

"I love you too, Masahiro." Rina coos softly before closing her eyes and falling asleep.

Coco and Keita depart right after Rina and Masahiro. On the way home, Keita brings up the topic of taking their relationship to the next level.

"I umm…, ahhh…, I don't think I'm ready for that just yet." Coco says hesitantly. "I don't want to move too fast after all."

"Well, I was just thinking about it, you know with Masahiro-kun and Rina-chan expecting their first child it just got me thinking, that's all." He replies softly.

Coco can tell that there is a bit of disappointment in her boyfriend's voice so she tries to improve his mood a bit.

"Don't you worry. Once we are married, we'll start a family of our own too." She says happily. She looks over to him and bats her eyebrows in an alluring manner. "Remember good things come to those who are patient enough to wait." She adds in a sexy voice.

Her comment causes Keita to blush furiously which makes her laugh.

They arrive back home ten minutes later and decide that since it's so late and they head right to bed.

"Good night Coco." Keita says before snuggling up next to the pretty yellow pearl Princess.

"Night Keita. Sleep well." She replies and closes her eyes, falling asleep.

Caren and Subaru are the last guests to leave the party and arrive home just after 11PM. The topic of babies and families is also on their minds as well. Unlike Coco, Caren is ready to take that step forward and as soon as she and Subaru arrive home, they head to the bedroom.

Caren takes a detour to the bathroom and Subaru takes a seat on the bed. After changing into some loose fitting pajamas, he waits for Caren to join him. The purple pearl Princess walks into the room a few minutes later clad in very revealing pajamas. Subaru lets out an audible gasp as he looks at the pretty girl standing before him.

"C…, Caren, you're beautiful." He stammers softly.

"Thank you Subaru." She says in a soft sexy voice. "Shall we play?" She adds as she joins him in the bed.

"Ahhh…, yeah we shall." He replies before turning off the light and pulling Caren into a loving embrace. He moves his right hand to her bra, unhooks it, and throws it across the room. He then caresses her naked upper body and she moans with delight. She returns the gesture. He purrs like a cat as her fingers run along his stomach, making her giggle excitedly. They stop for a moment, just long enough to strip themselves free of their remaining articles of clothing and lie back down on the purple satin sheets covering their bed, their bodies touching one another.

Subaru takes his hands and places them on Caren's breasts, massaging them gently and earning another pleasure-filled moan from the purple pearl Princess.

She wraps her legs around his waist and he positions his member at her entrance, thrusting himself into her. He continues thrusting into her, her gasps and moans growing louder and louder each time. He pulls in and out of her several more times before releasing his seed into her welcoming womb.

He thrusts into her one last time and they separate. Caren gasps, out of breath from their little adventure and lies down. She yawns, signaling that she is tired and closes her eyes. Subaru lies down and wraps his arms around his wife, and they drift off into a peaceful slumber.

Back at Pearl Piari, Rina wakes up in the middle of the night feeling very restless. She shifts in bed a couple times, but she's unable to get comfortable. Suddenly, she feels her stomach acting up and begins shaking Masahiro gently, trying to wake him up. He wakes up, glancing at the clock.

"Rina, what are you doing? It's 3:15 in the morning." He says, yawning loudly as he tries to get back to sleep. She is very nervous since the baby is four weeks early and the pain in her stomach persists.

"Masahiro, get up! We need to get to the hospital! I think it's time!" She replies urgently, her left hand resting on her belly.

"What? You're a month early."

"Well, sometimes babies come early, idiot!" Masahiro helps her out of bed and the two of them get in the car and drive to the hospital.

They arrive a few minutes later, informing the receptionist about what's going on. The receptionist pages Dr. Takato, but she is unavailable at the time due to another emergency. Another doctor comes out to the lobby, leading Rina and Masahiro into his office.

"Hello. I'm Dr. Kensuke Takato." The doctor says as he shakes the young couple's hands.

"Umm… Are you related to a Dr. Senna Takato by any chance?" Rina questions curiously. The doctor nods his head.

"Yes, she's my wife. We met in medical school during her residency. We've been together ever since." He answers before changing the subject. "Now, what brings you here?"

"Well, I've been feeling these pains in my stomach lately and I've been very restless."

"I see." The doctor tells her to undress and lie down on the examining table. She does what she's told and Masahiro holds her hand to comfort her.

The doctor puts a pair of gloves on and begins examining her. He checks the baby's position and vital signs as well as its readiness to come out. "Everything is fine. Just stay off your feet as much as you can and don't get too stressed or it could trigger premature birth."

"Okay. Thank you. I'll make sure she stays off her feet." Masahiro says, helping his wife off the table so she can put her pajama pants back on. She finishes redressing and the two of them leave the hospital to drive back home. By the time they get back, Rina is half asleep and her husband carries her to their room and they fall asleep as their heads hit the pillows.

_**b iEnjoy! Next chapter will be up soon, likely tomorrow or sometime during the week. It is almost finished though./b /i**_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Special Delivery

_**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! We're happy you guys like our story.**_

_**Warnings: Offensive language! The f word is used quite a bit in this chapter, so if you don't like it, don't read.**_

_**Chapter 6: Special Delivery**_

Rina sits on the couch, watching TV while waiting for Masahiro to return home from house hunting with Coco and Keita and a realtor. She is extremely bored due to sitting for so long doing nothing. She hates not being able to move around and is getting quite restless. Just when she is about to fall asleep, she hears the front door slam as her husband walks inside.

Masahiro walks over to his wife, kissing her passionately and rubbing her belly. Rina returns the kiss and the two of them embrace for a while.

"How did it go?" She inquires.

"It went great. We found a house only a few miles away from here. It's perfect!"

"Can we really afford it?"

"We have more than enough money, baby. With my income alone, I can afford it without a problem. Oh, and my father said he'd pitch in too." Masahiro replies, reassuring his wife that everything will be okay. She pulls him into a hug and the two of them cuddle together on the couch and fall asleep.

The next day, Rina is in her room talking to Coco.

"Hey Coco, remember when I told you that my doctor is a mermaid from your kingdom?" Rina asks the yellow pearl Princess curiously.

"Yeah, I remember. Why?" Coco replies, a hint of interest in her voice.

"Well, I have an appointment with her this afternoon and I was hoping that you could come along and meet her." Rina says hopefully.

Coco smiles back at Rina.

"Sure I'd love to come." She says happily. "I bet she'll be surprised to see me there." Coco giggles merrily.

"OK, then I'll meet you downstairs after lunch and we'll go." Rina says with a smile.

Coco agrees and returns to what she was doing.

At 1:15 PM Coco joins Rina in the lobby of the Pearl Piari and they drive over to the hospital. After parking they head over to the maternity ward and sign in at the receptionist's desk. Coco looks around at the waiting room taking notice of the décor.

They only wait a short time before the nurse calls Rina back to the examining room. Coco follows her friend down the short hallway to the room and walks in behind her.

Rina takes a seat on the examination table and waits for the doctor. Coco sits down in a chair next to Rina.

"Hello Mrs. Hamasaki, how are…." Dr. Takato stops in mid sentence as she sees Coco sitting next to the green pearl Princess.

P… Princess Coco! I... I'm honored to meet you your Highness." She says bowing deeply to Coco.

"It's nice to meet you too, Doctor." Coco replies sounding very polite. "I bet you weren't expecting to see me here, now were you?" She adds with a more characteristic giggle.

Rina looks at her doctor and smiles.

"I know that you said that you would like to meet Coco so I figured I'd invite her along one time." The green pearl Princess says.

"Thank you Princess Rina, I am truly happy to have met Princess Coco." Dr. Takato says happily.

Once things have calmed back down the doctor begins Rina's examination, which takes about 45 minutes to complete. Afterwards Rina and Coco decide to go out and eat some ice cream.

Two weeks before her due date, the mermaids throw Rina a baby shower in the dining area of the Peal Piari.

After Rina opens all the gifts her friends have given her, Nikora brings out a large white iced cake. It is decorated with pink icing and has a pretty icing flower in the center.

With much fanfare, Rina and Masahiro cut the cake and begin to distribute the slices to their friends. Kotaro takes a slice and sits down on the couch to eat it. He takes only a couple of bites and decides that he no longer wants it so he sets it on the couch next to him. He sees little Mikaru playing across the room and runs over to join her.

Kaito, looking for a place to sit and eat glances at the empty couch and walks over to it. Not noticing the slice of cake left by his son he sits down right on it!

"Ah, what the hell!" He shouts as he feels the cake squish beneath him. He stands back up quickly only to find that he has cake all over his ass.

"Nice going, Ass man!" Rihito laughs as he points to a very embarrassed Kaito.

"Uh Kaito dear, you're supposed to use your mouth to eat cake, not try and absorb it through your ass." Lucia says, laughing so hard that she almost falls out of her seat.

"Damn it! I know that." He retorts sounding a bit irritated. "I didn't see it there when I sat down."

Everyone has a real good laugh at Kaito's expense. Soon, however, he is laughing right along with everyone else!

"Hey Kaito-kun, I have some sweatpants if you wanna borrow them and get out of those cake covered pants." Masahiro offers between fits of laughter.

"Yeah, thanks Masahiro-kun, I think I'll take you up on that offer." Kaito replies as he follows Masahiro up to his room.

The two weeks pass slowly for the green pearl Princess. Two days before her actual due date, Rina and the other mermaid Princesses are busy working out the details of their first idol concert since before they defeated Aisu, the one that would kick off their singing career.

"I think we should start off with Legend of Mermaid." Caren says as she looks through a magazine. "After all it sounds so good when we all sing it together." She adds.

"Hmm.., I don't know." Hanon replies. "I think we should begin with Ever Blue."

"Ha, that's cuz it's your song!" Lucia pipes up. "Why don't we start with Mother Symphony then?" She pouts.

Rina has been listening but she has been feeling a bit uncomfortable since early in the day. All of a sudden, she feels what she thinks are just ordinary stomach cramps. The cramps persist, but she manages to keep herself calm.

Hanon takes notice of the distressed look on her friends face. "Are you alright Rina?" She asks curiously.

"Yeah, I just have some cramps, that's all." Rina replies. "I'm just gonna go to the bathroom for a minute." She adds and gets up from the table and walks towards the bathroom.

"Hey where's Rina going?" Noel asks as she sees the green pearl Princess walk out of the room.

"She said that she has some cramps and went to use the bathroom." Hanon answers plainly.

A look of concern crosses the deep blue Princess's face and she gets up and heads towards the bathroom to check on Rina.

Noel knocks on the door. "Rina are you alright?" She asks in a concerned tone.

Rina opens the door slowly. "Noel, please go and get Masahiro." She says calmly.

Noel immediately realizes what's happening and runs back to the other room.

"Coco, call the hospital! She's gone into labor!"

"Okay." Coco takes her cell phone out of the pocket of her jeans, dialing the number while Noel goes out and searches for Masahiro. She explains everything to the receptionist and the receptionist writes down the information before hanging up. Coco hangs up her phone and puts it back in her pocket.

Meanwhile, Noel is looking for Masahiro and she finds him in the yard, playing soccer with Kaito, Nagisa, Hideki, Subaru, and Keita. Noel whistles loudly, stopping the game and getting Masahiro's attention.

"Noel, what is it?" Masahiro asks. Noel informs him of what just happened and he begins to panic. "Oh my god!"

"Masahiro, calm down! Let's just get to the hospital, okay!" Masahiro eventually calms down and he and Noel go back to the hotel.

"Umm… Noel, how am I supposed to drive? Your car is blocking my SUV."

"We'll just use my car then." Both of them agree and go inside to help Rina. Surprisingly, she is very calm much to her husband's relief. Masahiro gets her comfortable in the back seat, sitting next to her while Noel drives to the hospital.

They enter the lobby and are greeted by a young nurse in light blue scrubs who takes them to a room. The nurse pages Dr. Senna Takato and as soon as the doctor arrives, she does a check-up on the expectant mother before admitting her.

As Rina, Masahiro and Noel are taken to the delivery room, the rest of the mermaids as well as the guys head to the waiting room and make themselves comfortable. Once inside, Coco takes notice of the vending machines lining the wall.

"Oh, look at all these candies!" She squeals happily. "I'm gonna get some." She adds, digging into her purse to find some change.

Lucia and Kaito walk over and join the yellow pearl Princess, looking at the items in the vending machines.

"Do you want anything?" Kaito questions the pink pearl Princess curiously.

Lucia takes a moment to decide. In the mean time, Coco has bought several packages of pop rocks as well as a can of cola. She walks over to Caren and sits down next to her.

Caren looks at Coco, eyeing the many packages of pop rocks now sitting on the blond haired girl's lap.

"Are you gonna eat all those?" She asks curiously.

"I sure am!" Coco giggles as she opens two packages and pours them into her mouth, the sweet candy pebbles popping in her mouth like popcorn in a microwave.

Caren watches as Coco opens the soda and takes a drink.

"You know that you can explode from doing that." Caren says plainly. Coco sticks her tongue out at Caren.

"No you can't!" She retorts loudly before emptying two more packages into her mouth.

"Yes you can, I saw it on the internet." Caren fights back. "This person ate like five packages of those and drank a soda. The next thing you know, she fucking exploded!" Caren adds, using her arms to dramatize the explosion.

"You idiot, that's not true." Coco says just before she takes another long sip of her soda. "You can't believe everything you see on the internet." She adds after swallowing.

"Yes it is!" Caren says loudly. "If you eat any more you're gonna blow up!"

"No I'm not." The yellow pearl Princess argues back as she opens the last 3 packages of pop rocks and pours them into her mouth.

Caren watches in horror as Coco brings the can of soda to her lips to drink.

"Don't do it, Coco!" She shouts loudly, getting the attention of Keita and Subaru who look over at her. Seeing the distressed look on her face, they decide to walk over and see what was wrong.

"Hey Caren, what's up?" Subaru asks curiously. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, something's wrong!" She answers loudly. "Coco just ate like seven packages of pop rocks and drank a soda! She's gonna fucking explode at any minute!"

Subaru looks at his girlfriend and shakes his head.

"What did you say?" He asks, not exactly following what Caren is saying.

"I said that Coco is gonna explode because she ate pop rocks and drank soda. I saw it on the internet!" Caren says as she moves away from Coco and hides behind Subaru.

"Umm…, I hate to break it to you Caren-chan, but you can't explode from eating pop rocks and drinking soda." Keita says as he sits down next to his girlfriend. "It's just a stupid myth that someone came up with."

"Yeah Caren, I told you so!" Coco chirps loudly, the sugar in the soda and candy causing her to become hyper.

"Shut the fuck up Coco!" She retorts angrily.

"Hey ladies, please keep it down in here." A nurse says as she enters the small waiting room. "I can hear you all the way down at the nurse's station.

Coco looks at the purple pearl Princess and sticks her tongue out. She then walks over to the vending machines to get more candy.

"Come and sit over here with me." Subaru says as he places his arm around Caren and they walk over to a couch across from the vending machines.

-With Rina, Masahiro, and Noel-

How are you feeling, Mrs. Hamasaki?" Dr. Takato asks as she walks into the room.

"It hurts, but not that badly. At least not right now." Rina replies.

"Okay. If the pain gets too intense and you can't take it anymore, just let me know." The doctor tells her before glancing at the monitor, making sure the baby continues to do well and that everything else is going smoothly.

"Are they alright?" Masahiro asks.

"Yes. Everything looks good, but I must warn you. It'll take a while before the baby is ready to be born."

"How long?"

"It varies. Anywhere from a couple hours to more than twenty-four hours. Just be patient."

"Okay."

"Masahiro, would you mind getting me some ice? My throat is getting dry." Rina asks her husband as she pulls him down toward her, planting a kiss on his neck.

"Sure, Honey. Be right back." Masahiro steps out of the room in search of the nearest ice machine. He makes a left turn, quickly finding what he's looking for and fills a pitcher with the frozen cubes of water for his wife. He is just about to re-enter the room when Lucia and Hanon stop him in the hallway.

"How's Rina?" Lucia says, a look of concern across her face.

"Is the baby okay?" Hanon adds.

"They're both fine. The doctor says it'll take a while though." Masahiro answers.

"Thanks, Masahiro." The pink pearl Mermaid Princess says, relieved that her friend and the baby are doing so well.

Masahiro returns to the room with the container of ice, pouring some of it into a medium-sized Styrofoam cup and handing it to Rina. The green pearl Princess puts a few ice cubes into her mouth and allows them to melt, the cool, refreshing liquid soothing her throat.

The next several hours pass by slowly. Masahiro grows nervous as his wife's pain becomes more intense and more frequent. He does as much as he can to keep her comfortable, rubbing her feet or back, or whatever else she wants him to do. Noel provides emotional support and encourages her best friend to relax and steady her breathing.

The green haired mermaid Princess soon begins to cry and moan softly, her pain now unbearable. She desperately fights back the urges to scream, and instead, grabs onto the bed rail, squeezing it as hard as she can. It hurts Masahiro deeply to see his wife and the mother of his unborn child in so much pain. He wishes he could just take it away from her. He gives her his hand, allowing her to squeeze it if needed.

Dr. Takato comes back into the room, putting on a pair of surgical gloves. She examines Rina again to check how well she's progressing and asks her if she would like something for the pain. Rina nods her head, allowing the doctor to page an anesthesiologist to administer an epidural.

The anesthesiologist comes in a few minutes later, instructing Rina to sit up straight so he could give her the medicine. With the help of Masahiro and Noel, she sits up, her back facing the medical professional as he prepares for the procedure. He moves her long, green hair over her right shoulder, allowing him to insert a catheter into her back and give her the medicine. When the procedure is over, Masahiro helps her lie back down on the bed, being careful not to accidentally knock the catheter out.

"Why don't you get some rest, Rina? You'll need your strength in a little while." Noel suggests. Rina nods in agreement as she yawns, falling asleep quickly.

-In the waiting room-

"Eh, someone just sent me a text message." Caren says as she reaches for her cell phone. Flipping it open, she reads the message.

Sender: Yellowpearl – Hiya!

Caren looks over at Coco who smiles back at her. She then types a message of her own and hits the send button. Coco feels her phone vibrate as Caren's message arrives in her inbox. Looking down, she reads the reply.

Sender: Antarcticprincess – What do U want?

Coco looks at her phone and frowns, she types her answer and hits send.

Sender: Yellowpearl - Just wanted 2 say hi. So HI!

Caren grumbles as she reads Coco's reply. She hastily types and sends her next message.

Sender: Antarcticprincess – Hi. lol I'm bored.

Sender: Yellowpearl – How about we have a text message war?

Sender: Antarcticprincess –OK, you're on!

For the next three and a half hours, the two mermaids engage in a war of text messages with everyone else looking at them as if they were nuts.

"Ahh! My phone's dying!" Coco says as she gets ready to send her next message to Caren.

Caren sends her next message and waits for Coco's reply. After a short wait she looks over at the yellow pearl Princess. Coco is trying to get her phone to work but it appears to have finally died. She gets up and walks over to her.

"Hey, what happened?" She asks curiously.

"My phone just went off. I think the battery is dead. I forgot the charger too." Coco replies.

"Woohoo, that means I won!" Caren says happily.

"But I sent the last message, so I won." Coco retorts.

"Nope, I sent the last message." Caren argues.

"But I never saw it so it doesn't count." Coco argues back.

"The message is in your phone's inbox. The next time you turn it on, it will be there." She adds before sticking her tongue out at Coco. Coco pouts and admits defeat.

At the same time, Nikora is struggling to keep a very cranky and overtired Tai under control. The two year old begins to cry when the magenta haired mermaid takes the toy, which doesn't belong to him, and hands it to one of the nurses at the nurses' station who puts it into large toy box.

"I think I'm gonna head back to the Pearl Piari." Nikora begins. "Tai is really tired and when he gets like that, he is a huge crab.

"Ok, Sis! Would you mind taking Kotaro too?" Lucia asks, her sleeping son resting against her chest.

"Sure, that's no problem." Nikora replies taking the sleeping boy from the pink pearl Princess. "Please call me when the baby is born." She adds as she heads out towards the exit.

-Back with Rina, Masahiro, and Noel-

Masahiro stands next to the head of the bed next to his wife, a small black video camera in his right hand as he attempts to capture the birth of their daughter on video. His stomach is in knots as his wife once again cries out in pain. She squeezes his left hand with great force, nearly breaking it.

He ignores the fact that his hand has almost been crushed and instead, he focuses on his wife as she is giving birth to their child.

"Ahhh!" She cries out as the baby's head begins to emerge. The drugs wear off and an intense pain takes over her body, as if a thousand knives were stabbing her all over. Noel wipes the sweat off her best friend's face, whispering words of encouragement. Masahiro tries to encourage her too, but she looks at him, her grayish eyes glaring at him like she is about to kill him.

"Shut the hell up! And turn off that damn camera now before I turn it off for you!" She shouts at him, scaring the shit out of him.

_"Note to self: Never piss off my wife again."_ He muses to himself, turning the video camera off so his wife doesn't hurt him for it later.

Finally, at 2:28 AM, twelve long hours after arriving at the hospital, a baby's loud cries fill the room. A very exhausted Rina collapses onto her pillow, trying to catch her breath.

"Congratulations! You have a beautiful baby girl!" Dr. Takato says excitedly, cleaning the baby off with a towel. She weighs, measures, and wraps the newborn girl in a soft pink blanket before placing her in her mother's waiting arms.

"Oh my god! She's beautiful!" Rina says, running her fingers through the baby's soft, nearly black hair.

"Yes she is. She looks just like you, honey." Masahiro replies. "You did excellent! I'm so proud of you." He adds, kissing his wife passionately on the lips. She smiles, returning her husband's kiss. She looks back down at the baby, talking to her softly.

"Have you picked out a name for your daughter yet?" The doctor asks, holding a clipboard with the baby's birth certificate on it. Rina looks up at her husband, allowing him to reveal their daughter's name.

"Kira Noel." He answers proudly, smiling as he takes the baby, now named Kira Noel, into his arms and cradles her gently.

"May I hold her?" Noel asks, smiling at Kira and running her fingers through the baby's hair. The baby cries in protest, but calms down quickly when Masahiro places her in her godmother's arms. Noel watches in amazement as Kira wraps her tiny hands around her left index finger.

"I'll be right back, Rina." Masahiro says to his wife as he goes out to the waiting room to inform everyone else about the new arrival.

"Masahiro-kun!" The aqua pearl Princess calls, coming towards him. "How is she?"

"Everything went great. We have a daughter! 7 lbs. 6 oz. and 21 inches long." He replies excitedly.

"Awww! Congratulations!" The pink pearl Princess adds. "Can we see her?"

"Yeah! I don't think Rina would mind." Hanon and Lucia follow the new father back to the room, the rest of their friends right behind them. They are excited about the new baby and bond with her until a nurse comes in and takes her to the nursery so Rina can rest.

_**Hope you enjoy it! Excuse us if some parts are rushed. We had a very hard time writing some parts of this chapter so we kinda didn't know what to write. Lol! Otherwise, we think it turned out great.**_


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks to Vianna, Jewelieishness, Kara, and Momo-chan12 for the nice reviews of our last chapter

_**Thanks to Vianna, Jewelieishness, Kara, Momo-chan12, and Cardcaptor Natesha for the nice reviews of our last chapter. Also, thanks once again to candie1206 for betaing for us. You guys are the best! **_

_**Disclaimer: Mermaid Melody isn't owned by Saki Hanajima-chan or Awesome Rapidash. We wish we did though! However, we do own any OCs we created. **_

_**Chapter 7: Welcome Home!**_

After sleeping for a few hours, Masahiro wakes up needing to use the bathroom. After doing his business, he walks back over to a still sleeping Rina. Smiling, he glances at his watch.

"_Hmm.., it's just after 6 in the morning."_ He muses to himself. _"I wonder how Kira's doing."_

The green haired young man leans down and kisses Rina's cheek softly before turning and heading towards the door. Outside, he walks down to the nurse's station and asks for directions to the nursery.

"You just go down this hallway." The one nurse instructs carefully, pointing to her left. "It's the third door on the left. You can't miss it." She adds with a smile.

Masahiro thanks the woman and heads down the hallway. He finds the door easily since it is embossed with the words 'Infant Nursery' and is decorated with flowers and teddy bears. Smiling, he pushes the door open and walks inside. He then walks over to a large pane of glass and looks at the many babies lying in their cribs.

He quickly finds Kira's crib and gazes at his sleeping daughter lovingly. He is so caught up in this that he doesn't notice that there is a young girl about five years old standing next to him.

"Are you a daddy?" She questions innocently, bringing Masahiro back to reality.

"Yes I am." He replies happily.

"Really?" She asks curiously. "Which one is your baby?"

Masahiro points out his daughter to the girl who squeals in delight.

"Oh, she's so cute!" The girl giggles merrily. "I'm here to see my new brother. He's over there." She adds, pointing to a crib on the other side of the room.

"He's cute!" Masahiro replies cheerfully. "You must be proud to be his big sister."

"Yep, I am." The girl answers happily.

A moment later a man around Masahiro's age walks over to them.

"Jenna, don't bother that man." He says as he walks over to the girl now known as Jenna.

"Aww… Dad, I was just showing Kyle off to the man." She pouts. "He showed me his baby too."

"I'm sorry if she was bothering you." He says apologetically. "She just loves to tell everyone about her brother, that's all. She's been so excited since we found out her mother and I were having a son."

Masahiro smiles back at Jenna's father.

"She wasn't bothering me at all." He replies. "Congratulations on your child's birth." He adds, extending his hand.

"Thank you. You too." The man says as he accepts Masahiro's hand and shakes it before leaving with Jenna in tow.

Masahiro remains for ten more minutes before blowing Kira a kiss and walking back to Rina's room. Walking inside, he finds Rina awake and sitting up in her bed.

"Good morning sweetie." He says before kissing her. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel sore and still a bit tired but other than that, I feel pretty good." The green pearl Princess replies, giving her husband a smile.

Masahiro reaches over and calls the nurse's station and asks if one of the nurses can bring Kira to their room.

Ten minutes later a nurse opens the door and walks inside with the newborn in her arms. She walks over and places the now crying infant into Rina's waiting arms. Kira quickly quiets down as Rina looks at her precious child.

"She's so sweet, isn't she?" Rina says softly as she gently strokes Kira's cheek, causing the baby to coo happily.

"Yes she is." Masahiro replies happily as he sits down next to Rina and Kira. "She's perfect."

Later that day, Rina is visited by Dr. Takato, who examines both mother and child.

"Well, both of you are doing fine." She says as she finishes the check up. "You should be able to go home tomorrow." She adds before saying good-bye and walking out of the room.

The following day, just after lunch, Rina and baby Kira are discharged. After getting Kira safely secured in her car seat, Masahiro helps Rina into the SUV. Once she's in and her seatbelt is buckled, he walks over to the driver's side and climbs in. He starts the engine and puts the vehicle into drive and heads towards the Pearl Piari.

As they arrive at the hotel Masahiro helps Rina out and removes Kira from her seat and together they walk into the building.

"Welcome home!" Everyone cheers as the happy couple enters the dining area. They swoon over little Kira, giggling and cooing at the tiny infant.

"Can I hold her?" Mikaru asks hopefully.

"Sure. Be careful though! Support her head and neck, ok?" The little girl nods and Rina takes a moment to show her how to hold the baby before placing Kira gently into her arms.

"Oh, she's so adorable." Mikaru giggles merrily. "She's just like one of my dolls."

After a few minutes, Kira begins to cry and Mikaru hands the child back to Rina.

"What about me? Can I hold her?" Hideki asks curiously.

Rina looks at the young man and wrinkles her nose up in disgust at the stench of tobacco coming from him.

"You need to clean yourself up before you can hold her." She replies plainly. "And no smoking either! I don't need or want her to get sick because of it."

A shocked and somewhat hurt expression crosses Hideki's face. He looks at Seira who shrugs her shoulders as if to say there's nothing that she can do about it. The seemingly badass teen gives the orange pearl Princess a hug before going into the bathroom to clean up, brush his teeth, and change his clothes. He comes back out, returning to his seat next to his girlfriend and once again asks to hold the baby.

Reluctantly, the green pearl Princess places her daughter in the boy's arms. Seira helps him get comfortable with the baby, and to Rina's surprise, Hideki does very well. He carefully cradles Kira, cooing at her and gently rocking her before giving her back to her mother.

For the next couple of hours, everyone celebrates and pours affection upon Rina and Kira.

"Rina, may I hold her?" Noel asks. The green pearl Princess smiles and carefully places her daughter in her friend's arms.

As she holds Kira in her arms, the aiiro pearl Princess begins to feel the desire to have a family of her own as well.

Pretty soon, it is beginning to get late and Rina and Masahiro decide to put Kira to bed. But Kira has a mind of her own; she wakes up at around 10 PM, not wanting to miss out on anything. She begins crying loudly, waking her parents up.

"_Damn! Shut up! We're trying to sleep." _Rina mentally cries out. She quickly snaps back to reality and she gets up and tends to her daughter's needs.

She feeds the newborn girl a bottle of formula and changes her diaper before putting her back in her crib. Kira gets fussy again the second she is put down.

"How about singing her a song?" Masahiro suggests. Rina looks at her husband and nods in agreement. She then looks at the infant, smiling at her and begins to sing her to sleep.

"_Itsuka, konna hi ga kuru to yokan shita...?  
Koi ni tomadou kokoro yurete yurete itai hodo..._

Daremo kidzukanai fukai kanashimi mo  
Nazeka tsutawatte shimau  
Maru de saiai no hito no you ni

Watashi to iu chiisa na hoshi  
Hitoshizuku no ai ga mebaeta  
Ushinau mono osorete wa tatakaenai  
Tsuki ni inori hoshi ni inori  
Yukubeki michi mune ni kizamu  
Namida ga atsuku naru wake wa...  
Unmei no Piece of Love  
Meguriaeta Piece of Heart"

After hearing her mother's beautiful song, the baby falls asleep.

Rina and Masahiro look at their sleeping child, smiling at her before they too decide to go back to sleep.

Unfortunately, they don't get to sleep for very long. At around midnight, both Rina and Masahiro are woken up again by the sound of Kira's cries. Rina is just about to get up and tend to her again, but Masahiro gently pushes her back down.

"I'll take care of her, honey." He says, smiling. He gets up, cradling his little girl in his arms and softly talking to her to get her to stop crying. After a while, Kira gets sleepy again and dozes off in her father's arms.

As the next two weeks pass, Kira continues to grow and develop as she should, and also continues to keep her exhausted parents up at all hours of the night. Soon, it is time for her to have her first check-up since coming home from the hospital.

"Would you like to come with us to Kira's pediatrician's office?" Rina asks Noel curiously. "Afterwards, we could go out for something to eat."

The aiiro pearl Princess considers the offer for a moment.

"Sure, I'd love to go." She answers happily.

"OK, let's go then." Rina says. The two mermaid Princesses and baby Kira leave Pearl Piari and drive to the nearby Pediatric center.

Twenty minutes later they arrive at the doctor's office and after parking, they walk inside. The receptionist greets them and has Rina sign in. Then they have a seat in the waiting room. Luckily, they only have to wait a short time before Kira's name is called. Noel accompanies the green pearl Princess as she follows the nurse down to the examination room.

"Please remove all of Kira's clothes except for her diaper." The nurse instructs. "The doctor will be right in."

Rina does as instructed and then cradles Kira in her arms. The doctor comes into the room and warmly greets the new mother and her best friend and then introduces himself.

"Hello, my name is Dr. Ikari. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too." Rina replies, shaking hands with the young doctor.

"_Wow! He's hot!" _Noel muses, as she stares at the handsome black haired, brown eyed medical professional, trying to suppress the huge smile on her face. Rina notices the smile and looks at her friend, wondering what she is smiling at.

"Noel, what's so funny?" Rina asks curiously.

"Umm…, nothing!" The aiiro pearl Princess replies causing her cheeks to blush a bright shade of red. She returns her gaze to the young doctor, who has already begun Kira's examination. Her mind quickly returns to her daydream of the cute young man._ "Holy shit, Noel, snap out of it!" _She chastises herself, bringing her back to reality.

"Hmm, Kira looks excellent." He begins. "She is perfectly healthy." He adds before glancing over at Noel.

The deep blue Princess meets his gaze and her blush deepens, if that's even possible. Quickly, she averts her view over to Rina, who is in the process of re-dressing Kira.

"Excuse me, may I ask you a question?" Dr. Ikari asks Noel quietly.

"Umm…, sure what's up?" Noel answers.

"I know this may sound quite weird to you, seeing as I barely know you, but may I ask you out to dinner?" He asks in a hopeful voice.

Noel considers the question for a moment before giving him her answer.

"Sure, why not." She answers happily.

Rina, who has finished re-redressing her daughter, watches her best friend chat with the cute young man. A smile crosses her face as she listens to Noel accepting the doctor's invitation.

After a few more minutes the Dr. Ikari turns back to Rina and gives her some instructions for Kira's care. After saying good-bye he walks out, leaving Rina, Kira, and Noel alone.

"What was that about?" The green pearl Princess asks curiously as she eyes her best friend wryly. "Come on fess up." She adds, nudging Noel playfully in the side.

"N…, nothing, it was nothing!" Noel stammers nervously.

Rina leans over and smiles slyly at her friend. "Did he just ask you out?"

"Umm…, yeah, he did." The deep blue Princess answers softly.

"Oh really, he did!" Rina squeals merrily. "What was your answer?" She prods curiously.

Noel looks at Rina and laughs.

"I think you've been hanging around Lucia and Hanon too much. You sounded just like them just now. But to answer your question, I accepted his invitation."

"Well I'm just happy to see you finally getting out and dating, that's all." Rina replies back.

Several days pass since Noel was asked out on the date. Now just before 6:00 PM, a nervous deep blue mermaid Princess waits to be picked up.

"Relax, Noel! Everything will be fine." Rina says as she walks over to her friend. "Just be yourself and have a good time."

'Yeah, I suppose you're right." She sighs. "I just don't wanna mess this up."

"Just be yourself." Rina replies. "Don't try and be someone you're not."

Several minutes later the sound of a horn outside causes Noel to jump. Rina chuckles as she watches her friend walk out the door.

"Hello Kenji-kun." Noel says as she walks over to the doctor's car. He returns her greeting and helps the deep blue mermaid into his car.

"Hi Noel-chan, how are you this evening?" He says as he climbs into the driver's side. "I was thinking that we could go to that new restaurant that just opened."

"OK, that sounds like fun." Noel replies cheerfully.

It takes about thirty minutes to drive to the eating establishment. Along the way, Noel and Kenji pass the time by having a conversation.

"So what do you do for a living?" Kenji asks curiously. "I mean if you don't mind me asking."

"I don't mind." Noel replies. "I sing in a musical group with some friends and my twin sister."

"Oh, that sounds like fun!" Kenji says with a smile.

"It is." Noel chirps happily, beginning to feel more comfortable in the young man's presence. "I also go to school. I'm working on my nursing degree." She adds.

"Oh." Kenji replies, his interest piqued. "How long have you been attending class?"

"I've been going for about a few years now." Noel answers plainly. "I'm almost done with my current classes." She adds.

"That's interesting." He says, pausing for a moment before continuing. "I've been looking for an assistant, would you like to come and work in my office?"

Noel is shocked silent for a few moments as her brain processes what was just said.

"Yeah, I'd really like that." The deep blue Princess answers.

They arrive at the restaurant a few minutes later and after leaving the car to the valet, they walk inside. They enjoy a wonderful dinner and Noel has a good time, talking and joking around with Kenji. They enjoy a decadent dessert, a German chocolate cake with whipped cream and strawberries. After dinner, they head back to the Pearl Piari.

"I had a wonderful time, thank you." Noel says as she steps out of the car.

"I did too." Kenji says as he helps Noel out of the vehicle. "Would you like to go to the movies on Friday?" He asks hopefully.

"I'd like that." Noel answers, a broad smile crossing her face.

"Good night Noel-chan." He says before leaning forward and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Good night Kenji-kun." The deep blue mermaid says as she accepts his kiss.

She waves as he pulls away and once he's out of sight she walks into the hotel.

"I'm home!" Noel shouts, wiping her shoes on the doormat before taking them off.

"Welcome back!" Rina replies, smiling as she greets her friend. "How was your date?"

"It was great! Kenji is such a wonderful guy. He's so kind and compassionate. He's perfect!" The green pearl Princess sighs.

"Well, don't rush into anything, ok?" Noel smiles, nodding in agreement as she gives her goddaughter a goodnight kiss before heading to her room.

Rina herself is tired as well and she carries her daughter to their room, placing the sleepy infant gently into her crib. Kira yawns as her tiny body hits the bedding, falling asleep quickly. Rina joins Masahiro in their bed, lying down next to him and she falls asleep, her head resting on his chest.

_**We hope you enjoy this chapter. We think it turned out pretty funny. Lol! Next chapter coming up soon!**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Thanks to our reviewers! We're happy you continue to enjoy our story. **_

_**Chapter 8**_

Time passes quickly and Rina and Masahiro continue to love and care for Kira. The infant is now nearly two months old and is thriving, her personality beginning to show.

One day, as Rina is playing with Kira in the living room of their newly bought house, excitement suddenly fills the room.

"Oh my God, Masahiro come here!" Rina shouts, giggling as she watches her daughter smile for the first time.

"What is it, honey?!" Masahiro replies, running into the room to inspect the scene.

"Look! She just smiled!" She says, tickling the baby's belly. Kira once again smiles with delight. Masahiro runs to the closet, grabbing his camera. He switches it on, taking pictures and videos of his wife and their child. Kira continues to smile as her parents play with her. They play on the floor for the next few minutes when they hear the annoyingly loud doorbell ring through the room. Kira starts to cry and Rina picks her up, cuddling her gently to get her to calm down as Masahiro answers the door. As he opens it, he sees Seira and Hideki standing there, waiting to be let inside.

"Hi! Come on in." He says happily as he welcomes the guests into the house.

"Thank you!" Seira says. The orange pearl Princess walks over to where Rina and Kira are, greeting the green pearl Princess as she drops her red backpack on the floor next to the coffee table.

"Hey, Seira, what brings you here?" Rina asks.

"Hideki and I are sleeping over. Remember?"

"Oh yeah, I'm sorry, I kind of forgot."

"That's okay." Seira smiles at her friend before turning her attention to Kira, cooing softly at her as she takes the child into her arms. Seira and Hideki bond with the baby, taking turns holding and playing with her while Rina and Masahiro go into the kitchen to prepare snacks. They return several minutes later with an oversized bowl of cheese flavored popcorn and a two-liter bottle of Pepsi.

The orange pearl Princess and her boyfriend give their appreciation for the food, digging into it contently.

The rest of the day goes by and soon it is almost 11PM. Rina decides that she and Kira are ready for bed.

"Night! Don't stay up watching TV all night, guys. You hear me? Especially you Seira, we have our idol concert at Pearl Piari tomorrow." Rina says, letting out a soft but very audible yawn escape her lips.

"Alright I won't, good night Rina-chan!"

"Good night." Hideki shouts.

Rina says goodnight again and heads upstairs to the nursery, placing her sleepy daughter gently in her crib. She smiles, kissing her on the forehead before retiring to her own room, joining her husband in bed. The green pearl Princess notices her husband reading a sports magazine. She laughs softly, kissing him on the lips. Masahiro returns his wife's kiss and goes back to reading. Rina lays her head down on her pillow and drifts off to sleep.

-Next Day-

Rina and the other mermaids are backstage at the Pearl Piari. They are preparing to perform together for the first time since they defeated Aisu.

"Are you nervous?" Lucia says as she looks at the other mermaids in the room. "I sure am!"

"Why?" Caren asks curiously. "We've sang all these songs many times before."

"I don't know exactly why." The pink pearl Princess squeaks back. "I just am."

"Just relax and have fun, that's all you need to do." Noel says in a reassuring voice.

Lucia smiles back at the aiiro pearl Princess.

"Thanks Noel."

"Are you guys about ready?" Hippo (in his human form) asks. "Because the show's about to start."

"OK let's do this!" Lucia replies energetically. "Pink Pearl Voice!" She shouts, touching her hand to the shell necklace which holds her pearl. The rest of the mermaid Princesses join in.

"Mizuiro Pearl Voice!"

"Green Pearl Voice!"

"Purple Pearl Voice!"

"Aiiro Pearl Voice!"

"Yellow Pearl Voice!"

"Orange Pearl Voice!"

Hippo and Nikora appear a moment later and lead the girls to the stage. Nikora then walks up onto the stage. She walks to the middle and faces the crowd before her.

"Welcome to the Pearl Piari party!" She announces happily. "Now please help me to welcome, Pearl Voice!"

As she says this, Hippo with the help of Kaito and Masahiro raise the curtain behind her. This reveals the mermaids for the first time in all together in their idol forms for something other that a battle. They are standing on the stage, the lights shining down on them, and they begin to sing.

"_Nanairo no kaze ni fukarete tooi misaki wo mezashiteta  
Yoake mae kikoeta MERODII  
Sore wa totemo natsukashii uta _

_Higashi no sora he to habataku toritachi  
Saa takarajima ni nukeru chikamichi. _

_Nanatsu no umi no rakuen  
Arashi no yoru no ato ni wa ai wo tsutaeru tame inochi ga mata umareru  
Nanatsu no kuni no MERODIA  
Daremo ga itsuka wa koko wo tabidatsu hi ga kitemo  
Watashi wa wasurenai _

_Yukkuri to kumo wa nagarete niji no hate ni kiete itta  
Hoshitachi wa shinju no you ni  
Tsuyoi hikari hanachi hajimeru _

_Minami no sora kara kikoeru kuchibue  
Sou otona ni naru toki ga kiteita _

_Kiseki wo meguru bouken  
Yasashii haha no negai wo mune ni idaki nagara daremo ga tabi wo shiteru  
Hoshi furu yoru no FANTAJIA  
Afureru namida to inori dare ni mo wakaranai  
Mirai wo terashiteru_

_Nanatsu no umi no rakuen  
Arashi no yoru no ato ni wa ai wo tsutaeru tame inochi ga mata umareru  
Nanatsu no kuni no MERODIA  
Daremo ga itsuka wa koko wo tabidatsu hi ga kitemo  
Watashi wa wasurenai_

_Kiseki wo meguru bouken  
Yasashii haha no negai wo mune ni idaki nagara daremo ga tabi wo shiteru  
Hoshi furu yoru no FANTAJIA  
Afureru namida to inori dare ni mo wakaranai  
Mirai wo terashiteru" _

They perform for almost two and a half hours, singing songs as a group, in duets, and solos. The excited crowd cheers loudly after each song.

"Love shower pitch! Would you like an encore?" The crowd applauds the mermaid Princesses, throwing roses and confetti into the air, much of which lands all over the stage.

What the mermaids don't know is that someone of great importance is sitting in the audience. Mr. Koichi Sakaguchi, who represents one of the major Japanese record labels had heard of the concert from a friend and decided to take a chance and watch the show.

As the mermaids get off the stage, Mr. Sakaguchi gets up from his seat and heads towards them. He then asks for the group's manager. After being directed to Nikora, who is currently sitting next to Maki, counting the money earned from the concert.

He walks over and introduces himself. "Hello, my name is Mr. Sakaguchi and I represent Fuji Records." He begins. "I really enjoyed your show tonight and I was wondering if you might be interested in recording with us?"

The Princesses discuss with each other about whether or not to accept the record deal.

"Ok, before we agree to this, what are the terms?" Rina asks, not wanting to agree to a deal without knowing what she and her friends are getting into.

The executive clears his throat and sits down with the seven mermaid Princesses and their manager, telling them the terms and conditions of the contract. The girls think about the offer and finally, they make their decision.

"We'll do it!" Rina says, shaking hands with the middle-aged business man. He reaches into his dark brown briefcase, pulling out a short stack of papers, held together by staples.

"Please sign." He says, marking X's at the bottom of the last page and passing the contract around the table. The girls read over everything including the fine print, sign it, and return it to the center of the table.

The man places the contract neatly into his briefcase and congratulates the mermaid Princesses before leaving. As he leaves, he tells them he will call them to set up a recording session.

Two weeks later, Rina and baby Kira are visiting Nikora and Tai at the Pearl Piari.

"Wow, Kira sure is getting big." Nikora says as she cradles Rina's daughter lovingly in her arms. "She's what, two months old now?"

"Yep, the time has really gone by fast." Rina replies happily. "She is still kinda picky about eating though."

"Really, she looks like she's gaining weight." The magenta haired mermaid comments happily.

"Yeah, she will only eat when she feels like it and despite my best efforts she refuses to breastfeed. She just won't latch on." Rina explains plainly.

"Hmmm…, yeah I had that problem with Tai as well." Nikora replies. "I ended up just using a bottle with him."

"I suppose I'll have to do the same thing." The green haired Princess replies. She stands up, moving towards the stairs. "Nikora-san, could you watch Kira for a few minutes? I need to use the bathroom."

"Sure, it's no problem." Nikora replies happily as she continues holding the small child, softly humming a tune.

The green pearl Princess then heads upstairs and finds the bathroom. She walks inside and does her business. After washing her hands she heads back towards the stairs and as she does, she passes Seira's room. Rina pauses for a moment as she listens to Seira and Hideki laugh hysterically about something.

"Heehee, this is gonna be so funny!" Seira squeals happily. "You got it on speaker, right?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it." Hideki replies. "Just sit back and watch the master." He adds with a laugh.

Rina stops just outside of the orange pearl Princesses room.

"_What are they up to now?"_ She ponders curiously.

Her question is answered a few moments later as she watches them dial a number on Hideki's cell phone.

The phone rings a couple of times before a woman answers it.

"Valley Lanes. This is Sheila. How may I help you?" She asks curiously.

Stifling a laugh, Hideki answers her question.

"Yeah, I was wondering if anyone there has seen my friend Mike. Mike Hunt. Is he there?"

"Sure, just a moment and I'll check." Sheila answers plainly.

Rina can feel her cheeks flush with anger as she realizes that they are making another prank phone call.

Seira and Hideki are trying hard not to laugh as they listen to the woman on the other line.

"Has anyone seen Mike Hunt?" She questions repeatedly.

Hysterical laughter can be heard in the background. Sheila pauses for a moment and says the name slowly and quietly to herself. As she does, it comes to her. She quickly realizes that she's become the victim of a prank call.

"Why you little shithead!" She shouts angrily. "If I ever find you I'll rip your fucking balls off and shove them down your throat!" She adds before hanging up loudly.

Both Seira and her boyfriend continue to laugh hysterically and that pushes Rina over the edge.

"I thought I warned you two about making those damn prank calls!" Rina says loudly as she walks into Seira's room. "Yet, I find you two doing it again! What the hell is the matter with you guys?"

"Hey calm down Rina-chan." Hideki replies quickly. "We were just having some fun. Chill out, will ya."

"Shut the fuck up Hideki!" Seira shouts, sensing the anger in the green pearl Princess's tone. "Can't you see Rina's pretty pissed?"

The orange pearl Princess's boyfriend looks at her curiously.

"You wanted to do it too, so don't get all pissy with me now." He retaliates.

"Watch your language!"

"What's the big fucking deal, Rina? It's just a stupid word!" Hideki says, laughing loudly.

"It's not funny Hideki!" Rina retorts loudly. "It's bad enough that you do stupid crap like pulling pranks, but you go way too far with the swearing. You gotta remember that there are young children in this house who look up to you. If they repeat this stuff, you're screwed."

Sensing that this could escalate into an all out verbal war, Seira grabs her boyfriend's arm and they head towards the door.

"Sorry Rina. We won't do it again." She says as she and Hideki leave the room.

Rina just stands there for a few moments as she calms herself back down. As she does, she notices something. The room doesn't have the same horrible smell as it did the last time.

"_Hmmm…, I don't smell cigarette smoke. I guess he does listen sometimes."_

After another couple of minutes Rina heads back downstairs, rejoining Nikora in the dining room, but she is surprised to see the other mermaid Princesses and their men sitting at the table too.

"Hi. What brings you guys here?" Rina asks curiously. She sits back in her seat, gently taking Kira from Nikora's arms.

"Nothing. Just visiting." Noel answers.

What was all the yelling up there?" Caren inquires. "Does it have something to do with why Seira and her boyfriend hightailed it out of here so fast?"

"Yep, I caught those two making prank calls in Seira's room, again!" The green pearl Princess replies. "That Hideki has such a foul mouth too. He swears like a drunken sailor! It just makes me so mad!" She adds loudly.

"We're home!" Lucia shouts as she and Hanon walk into the room.

"You and Hanon when you two go shopping, it's like you two never wanna stop." Caren answers plainly.

"That's not true." Lucia pouts. "Is it, Hanon?"

The aquamarine mermaid Princess remains silent knowing that what Caren just stated is the truth.

Three days later, a very nervous couple is about to make their dreams come true.

Hanon, dressed in a beautiful baby blue sleeveless wedding dress stands just outside the doors of the church about to make her walk down the aisle.

Waiting for her inside the church is an equally nervous Nagisa. He is dressed in a western style black and white tuxedo. Standing next to him is Masahiro on the right and his father on the left.

The wedding march begins and the doors in front of the aquamarine Princess open.

_**Hahaha! Evil cliffy!!! Next chapter will be up soon. Sorry for taking sooo long with this one. We had major writers block. Lol**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Lol! Yeah, this chapter is way overdue. LMAO! Damn evil writer's block got in our way again! Also,I have not been feeling well and that along with a bunch of other real life stuff caused a lot of delays. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. We're happy you guys enjoyed it.**_

_**Chapter 9: Hanon's Wedding**_

_-Last time-_

_Hanon, dressed in a beautiful baby blue sleeveless wedding dress stands just outside the doors of the church about to make her walk down the aisle._

_Waiting for her inside the church is an equally nervous Nagisa. He is clad in a western style black and white tuxedo. Standing next to him are his father and his best man, Masahiro._

_The wedding march begins and the doors in front of the aquamarine Princess open._

_-End flashback-_

Hanon had never been one to be nervous. However, at this point, the young aqua pearl Princess is a nervous wreck.

As she steps towards the young man waiting on the other side of the room a smile broadens across her pretty face.

She joins her future husband in front of the priest and both turn and face the man. He begins the ceremony a moment later.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! We are gathered here today, not to witness the beginning of what will be, but rather what already is! We do not create this marriage, because we cannot. We can and do, however, celebrate with Hanon and Nagisa and their friends and families the wondrous and joyful occurrence that has already taken place in their lives." The Priest begins. Hanon and Nagisa look at each other, their smiles as bright as the sun as the Priest continues speaking. "Hanon, do you take Nagisa to be your husband, to love and cherish, from this day forward?"

"I do." Hanon replies.

"Nagisa, do you take Hanon to be your wife, to love and cherish, from this day forward?"

"I do."

The Priest then tells the couple to exchange rings. Nagisa takes Hanon's left hand into his own and gently slides the golden diamond studded wedding ring on her ring finger, lovingly kissing her hand and Hanon does the same.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!" The Priest says, congratulating the newly married couple. Nagisa wraps his arms around his wife and the two of them kiss passionately as cheers of excitement fill the room.

-At the Reception-

Cheers erupt from the guests as the newly wed couple joins them in the nicely decorated dining area of the Pearl Piari.

"Congrats, Hanon!" Seira shouts, barely able to contain her excitement.

"You two make a perfect couple." Lucia chirps happily. "Your gown is so pretty too." She adds with a smile.

"Yeah, good luck in the future Nagisa-kun." Kaito adds extending his hand to the young man.

Nagisa accepts Kaito's handshake.

"Thanks."

"The wedding ceremony was very nice." Rina comments cheerfully. "You looked pretty calm Hanon, weren't you nervous?"

"Yep, a little, but I just kept thinking about how wonderful it will be to finally be married and that kept me focused." The aqua haired Princess replies.

"Hey, congrats you two!" Coco says happily as she approaches them. "Your gown is simply stunning Hanon!"

"Thanks Coco-chan, your dress looks very elegant too." She replies, noting the yellow pearl Princess's flowing golden yellow dress.

For the most part, everyone mingles and has a good time, enjoying the lavish buffet, dancing and making a toast to Hanon and Nagisa's future together.

For Caren though, things aren't as cheery.

"Hey Subaru, I think you've had enough to drink." She says noticing the stagger in her husband's walk.

"I'll say when I've had enough." He slurs drunkenly. "You're not my mother!"

"No, but I am your wife!" She retorts loudly. "At least for right now that is." She adds under her breath.

"Awww… come on! He says sarcastically before downing the rest of his drink. "Damn, I need a refill." He slurs, before turning and heading towards the bar.

Caren has had enough by this point.

"I said that's enough!" She says, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards her. "No more damn booze tonight, OK?"

"I'm just gonna have one more, that's all." He replies, pulling his arm from her grip. He then turns and walks away from her.

"Umm…, is everything OK?" Noel asks her sister cautiously.

"Ummm…yeah. Everything's fine." Caren lies and walks away. The aiiro pearl Princess doesn't believe her. She watches her sister leave, unsure if she should intervene. She decides to leave her alone for the time being.

As the reception winds down, the newly married couple bids farewell to their guests before retiring to their own room for the evening.

Nagisa then scoops up his new bride in his arms and carries her across the room. He carries her over to the king sized bed and gently sets her down.

Hanon gazes back up at the young man she'd just wed.

"I love you so much Nagisa." She coos sweetly.

"I love you too Hanon." He replies as he lies down next to her. "Never before in my life have I been so happy." He adds before gently placing his lips up against hers.

Hanon feels her husbands lips gently press against her own and pulls him into a passionate embrace, as she does she licks his lower lip, begging to be let inside.

Nagisa has been waiting for a moment like this ever since he first laid his eyes on the pretty aqua mermaid Princess. As he feels her tongue gently lick his lips, he opens his mouth and allows her inside.

"Please hold me." Hanon cooed as she wrapped her arms around him. "I never want to be apart from you."

"Neither do I Hanon, I love you more that life itself." He says as he wraps his arms around her and pulls the aqua Princess tightly up against him.

They separate a moment later to remove some of their clothes.

"Can you please unzip my dress?" Hanon asks playfully.

"Sure sweetie." He replies, moving over and pulling the zipper down on Hanon's soft blue wedding gown allowing her to easily slip out of the garment.

Nagisa then removes his jacket and unbuttons his shirt before re-joining his wife on the bed. She quickly pulls him back up against her and hugs him passionately.

Nagisa can feel Hanon's well developed breasts, now only covered by her bra, pressing against his chest.

"Oh, you are so pretty." He says softly. He slowly brings his hand up and begins to softly rub her tummy.

The feeling running through the Princess's body is unlike anything she's ever experienced in her life. She takes Nagisa's hand and brings it up to her breast and with a smile she encourages him to continue touching her.

Nagisa begins to massage her breast gently, finding her nipple and rubbing his thumb over the top of it. The effect is immediate and Hanon moans softly.

"Oh, yes Nagisa, more please." Nagisa leans forward and places his lips passionately on Hanon's, kissing her deeply.

Hanon removes his shirt and runs her hands over his back. As she does so she can feel something pressing into her leg. She giggles to herself as she realizes what it is.

"Heehee, I see someone else has decided to join the party." She says before moving her hand down to the front of his pants. "Yep, I thought so." She giggles.

A slightly embarrassed Nagisa sighs to himself, hoping that he is enough to satisfy her.

Hanon sets about removing his belt and unbuttoning his pants, she then helps him to slip them off. He then helps her to remove her gown the rest of the way. Together they lie back down and begin to kiss passionately, their tongues wrapping around each other playfully.

Nagisa returns his attention to Hanon's chest, massaging her soft globes passionately. As he works on her chest, Hanon turns her attention to the bulge forming in her husband's underwear. She reaches inside and removes his now erect member. She gently begins to move her hand up and down the length, causing Nagisa to moan in pleasure.

"Ahhh, that feels wonderful." He says softly. He then reaches behind her back and after a bit of work manages to unhook her bra. Hanon smiles as she wiggles out of it. Nagisa wastes no time and begins to kiss her erect nipples, his lips closing over her hardened nipple.

"AHH…!" Hanon moans softly

Nagisa continues to kiss her, making a trail down her stomach and stopping right above her moist womanhood.

"Hanon, are you sure you want to do this? After we do it there's no turning back, you know that right?" Nagisa asks gently.

"I love you Nagisa, and I want to share everything with you. I want this," The aqua haired girl whispers.

Nagisa continues to kiss her, gently working his way down her leg and on to her inner thigh. They continue to kiss and play for a little while longer.

"Are you ready?" Nagisa asks softly, running a couple of sweet kisses along her neck.

"Yes…" Hanon answers passionately.

The aqua haired mermaid spreads her legs and welcomes her husband. He moves in between her legs and rubs his erect member between her dripping petals. He slowly begins to fill her, rocking back and forth as he does.

Hanon feels him inside her, such pleasure she'd never felt before. Nagisa continues his penetration until he comes up against her barrier.

"Do it quickly." Hanon says as she braces herself for the pain to follow.

Nagisa pulls himself back and with one quick thrust breaks through her. Hanon winces and tears begin to gather in the corners of her eyes.

"Ouch!" Hanon hisses softly, trying to contain the pain she is experiencing.

"Are you ok?" Nagisa asks in a worried tone.

"Yes, please go on." She moaned in reply. "Don't stop now."

Nagisa leans forward and kisses her on the forehead. "OK, but please tell me if I'm hurting you." He says as he continues to pump himself in and out of her.

"Faster…" Hanon moans, as her husband increases the speed of his thrusts. She begins to adjust to his rhythm and moves her hips along with him.

Her pain quickly fades and she begins moaning with pleasure as he pumps her, filling her completely.

She feels every inch of him rubbing against her inner walls and she gasps as he hits a sensitive spot. She moans loudly before pressing her lips onto his.

She can't take it any longer as a strong electric sensation begins to burn between her legs. She quickly realizes that she is seconds away from experiencing her fist orgasm. She screams out loudly as the powerful orgasm takes over. He releases his seed into her and pulls out, collapsing next to her on the bed.

Afterwards they just lay there, sweaty and tired, trying to catch their breath.

"I love you Nagisa." Hanon murmurs lovingly.

"I love you too Hanon." Nagisa replies, leaning forward and kissing her softly.

They wrap their arms around each other and quickly fall into a deep sleep, wrapped in each other's arms.

Outside the Pearl Piari, things between Caren and Subaru have turned from bad to worse and they are still arguing.

"You're fucking drunk!" She screams loudly. "Look at you, you can't even stand!" She adds. "You make me sick looking at you like that!"

"Ya know what bitch? It's all 'cuz of you." He slurs back. "You're so damned high maintenance, it fucking drives me crazy!"

"Fuck you asshole! Get away from me! I don't even wanna see your face right now." She says angrily as she heads towards the front door of the hotel.

"Where do I go then?" Her husband asks quizzically as he tries to stagger towards her.

"I don't give a shit where you sleep, but one thing is for sure it won't be with me." She retorts angrily. With that the purple haired girl opens the door and walks inside. Subaru stumbles forward and falls onto the front step unconscious.

"What was all the yelling about?" Nikora asks curiously. "Where's Subaru?"

"That fucking piece of shit is passed out in the driveway." Caren responds coldly.

"Oh I see." Nikora says plainly. "If you'd like to stay here for the night Caren, there is a free room upstairs." She adds.

"Thank you Nikora-san. I would like to stay here. I just don't want to be around Subaru when he's drunk like that" Caren answers, soft tears falling from her eyes.

"I understand." The magenta haired mermaid says compassionately as she watches the purple pearl Princess ascend the stairs.

Nikora then asks Maki to go out and get Subaru and take him to another room.

"I'll see what I can do in the morning." She muses softly before joining her husband and heading up to their own room.

_**Sorry if it's short. We think it's pretty good anyway though, so we just left it alone. Hope you guys like it!**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Yes, we updated. LOL! This chapter was very hard to write, but we finally did it. This chapter takes place 3 years after the last one. Sorry if the beginning is boring to you guys. It is more of a recap than anything else, but the chapter itself is pretty good, although a bit short.**_

_**Warnings: Drug references, mild language, cross-dressing**_

_**Chapter 10**_

_Recap:_

_After their problems following Hanon's wedding Caren convinced Subaru to give up the bottle. He agreed and went into rehab and after a while he was finally able to break his drinking habit. Caren was ecstatic and they quickly resolved the marital differences that had threatened to tear them apart._

_Things were going great for a while. They celebrated their second anniversary by going out to dinner and afterwards, they decided to have sex which as a result, they conceived twins. Unfortunately it seemed that Subaru hadn't completely shaken himself free of the grips of his demons and had once again begun to drink. During Caren's pregnancy he'd tried to cover the fact by immersing himself in his job. Caren found out about her husband's return to the bottle and confronted him with it. He once again promised to give it up. But after 3 months of marriage counseling and Subaru's continued drinking, Caren filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences._

_It was only after the divorce that Subaru was finally able to free himself from the grip of alcoholism. He tried several times to once again rekindle the flame with Caren; however she was no longer interested in him. To this day though they remain friends and share custody of the twins._

_Soon after her divorce Caren hooked up with Rihito and they are still going strong. Together they are raising Mikaru as well as her and Subaru's twins Akira and Emiko, also known as Aki and Emi, who are now two years old._

_Coco and Keita got married a few months after Hanon and Nagisa but for the time being, they have decided to hold off on having children. They live in a huge condo a short drive from the Pearl Piari._

_Hanon and Nagisa are still married and like Coco and Keita, they have decided to wait on having children._

_Noel married Kenji shortly after Coco and Kieta's wedding. They are now proud parents of a lovely daughter they named Carina Rei. She is now six months old and is named after Noel's sister Caren and her best friend Rina. Her middle name Rei is just a name they both liked and also the name of Kenji's late mother_

_Lucia and Kaito are still happily married and raising Kotaro, who is now four_

_Nikora and Maki still run the Pearl Piari and Maki's restaurant along with raising their family. Five year old Tai is a big brother. Two and a half years ago Nikora gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. The boy is named Daisuke and the girl is named Chiharu often called 'Chi' or 'Haru' since she has a bit of trouble saying her full name, as do some of the mermaid Princesses' children._

_Seira is now seventeen and still dating Hideki. Rina still refuses to accept the rebellious young man and thinks he's a poor influence on the orange pearl Princess. Seira does truly love him and he loves her in return._

_Rina and Masahiro's marriage is still going strong and Kira is now a feisty three year old. She has inherited her mother's strong will and just like Rina, she won't hesitate to tell the truth, even if it may cause her trouble. She has Rina's long dark green hair which is usually kept in a loose ponytail and Masahiro's eyes._

One night, Rina and Masahiro are about to go out on their first date together since before their daughter was born. Seira volunteers to babysit and Rina is more than happy to leave Kira in the orange pearl Princess's care.

"Thanks Seira." Rina said as she and Masahiro walk towards the door.

"Sure, it's no trouble at all Rina." The orange pearl Princess replies happily. "Come on Kira-chan, let's watch some TV." She adds as she takes the girl's hand and leads her towards the TV room.

Seira and Kira walk into the TV room and are greeted by Coco, Noel, and Caren who are already watching a show.

Kira takes a seat next to Noel.

"Hi Noel-san." She says happily.

"Hi Kira-chan, how are you today?" The aiiro Princess asks curiously.

"I'm good." Kira replies, directing her attention to the TV. "What are you watching?" She asks curiously.

"It's some show about penguins. Hippo wanted to watch it." Caren answers plainly.

"Yeah, and it's kinda boring." Coco adds sounding a bit frustrated.

Hippo turns and shoots the blonde haired girl the evil eye.

"It's very informative. You could learn a thing or two from it." He retorts.

"Hey, I didn't know penguins could sing." Seira says in a perplexed voice. "But look, those penguins on the TV are singing."

"Of course we can sing." Hippo responds loudly. "I'll show you." He adds before striking a pose and he begins to sing.

"_Nanairo no kaze ni fukarete tooi misaki wo mezashiteta_

_Yoake mae kikoeta MERODII_

_Sore wa totemonatsukashii uta_

_Higashi no sora he to habataku toritachi_

_Saa takarajima ni nukeru chikamichi_

_Nanatsu no umi no rakuen_

_Arashi no yoru no ato ni wa ai wo tsutaeru tame inochi ga mata umareru_

_Nanatsu no kuni no MERODIA_

_Daremo ga itsuka wa koko wo tabidatsu hi ga kitemo_

_Watashi wa wasurenai"_

His horrible off key singing causes everyone to cover their ears in an effort to block out the sound.

"Ahhh…, make it stop!" Coco shouts.

"Yeah, that's enough, Hippo." Caren chimes in. "My ears are gonna bleed."

"No offense, Hippo, but you sound like the chipmunks on crack." Seira adds.

Kira is extremely annoyed and walks over to the penguin, putting her hands over his beak/mouth to keep him from singing.

"Ahhh… Shut up, you stupid penguin! Your singing sucks!" She yells loudly.

Everyone including Hippo is temporarily stunned by Kira's comment. Noel walks over to the small girl and kneels down in front of her.

"Hey Kira, that wasn't a very nice thing to say."

"But it's the truth." She says plainly. "Hippo can't sing. He sounds like he has a frog in his throat."

"That may be true, but such comments can be very hurtful." Noel says softly. "Now say you're sorry."

Kira turns and faces the penguin.

"I'm sorry for being mean, Hippo-san." She says softly.

"I accept your apology, Kira-chan." He replies before turning away and leaving the room.

The rest of the evening goes without incident; Seira orders pizzas for dinner and everyone has a good time, just hanging out and playing games. Soon, Rina and Masahiro return from their date to pick up their child.

Masahiro waits in the SUV while Rina walks inside the Pearl Piari.

Kira stops playing her game and glances up at Noel, giving her the sad puppy look.

"You won't tell my mommy, will you Noel-san." She asks.

"Tell me what?" Rina asks.

The green pearl Princess looks at her friend curiously.

"OK Noel, what did she do?"

"Hippo was demonstrating his inability to sing and…, well, Kira told him what she thought of it. She told him he sucks."

"Oh did she?" Rina asks, sounding a bit miffed.

She turns and faces her daughter.

"Where did you learn to say such things?" She asks, raising her voice slightly.

"I heard it from Hideki-san. He's always saying that things suck." She answers innocently.

"Yeah, I figured that he probably had something to do with it." Rina replies. "I'll have to have a word with that boy. You don't use that word again. Do you understand?" The child nods her head in response to her mother's question.

"Good. Now get in the car and wait with Daddy." Kira goes out to her parents' vehicle and gives her father a kiss before strapping herself into her booster seat.

"Hey, sweetie. You have a good time?" Masahiro asks, leaning towards the back seat to give his daughter a hug.

"Yep!"

After saying good-bye, Rina joins her family and they make the twenty minute drive home. By the time they pull in the drive way, Kira is sound asleep, her head tilted towards her right shoulder. Rina and Masahiro get out and Masahiro unbuckles Kira's seatbelt, carefully lifting the sleeping girl from her seat.

Kira continues to sleep against her father's chest as he carries her inside the house. He carries her up to her bedroom and gently puts her in her bed, pulling her blanket up to her chest. He and Rina kiss her good-night and retire to their room.

"'Night, Baby." Masahiro says, wrapping his arms around his wife and embracing her as he kisses her passionately on the lips. Rina smiles and returns the gestures.

"Good night." She yawns and lies her head down on her pillow, falling asleep within a few seconds. Masahiro joins her, and soon, he too is asleep, his arms loosely around her waist and his head resting on her chest.

The next day, Rina and Kira are in the kitchen making breakfast. They make blueberry pancakes with a variety of fresh, organic fruit on the side, eggs, sausage, bacon, and toast.

"Kira, can you please go wake Daddy for me?" Rina asks, setting the food on the table and covering everything with lids to keep them hot.

"Ok, Mommy." Rina smiles as her daughter runs through the house. She is amazed at how such a tiny little girl can run so fast and have so much energy.

Kira runs into her parents' bedroom and sees her father still in bed. She climbs up onto the bed and pounces on top of him, which wakes him up.

"Good morning, you cute little fireball." He says as he starts tickling his little girl's belly, causing her to giggle with excitement.

"Come on, Daddy! Breakfast is ready." She grabs her dad by his arms, trying to pull him out of bed. He gets himself out of the bed and the two of them walk down to the kitchen together.

Masahiro enters the kitchen and sees the food on the table. She gives him a quick kiss on the right cheek and puts a pitcher of orange juice on the table.

The three of them sit down at the dining room table and start eating. Kira is a very picky eater and refuses to eat the bacon or sausage. She isn't very hungry and just settles for a pancake and some scrambled eggs, both covered in syrup. She sees a fork in front of her, but she decides to use her fingers instead which gets her father's attention.

"Kira, use your fork please."

"Ok, Daddy." The child picks up her fork and stares at it for a moment before using it to eat with.

Everyone finishes eating and Masahiro heads to the gym to train for an upcoming boxing match while Rina decides to take Kira to the mall and have a girl's day out.

"Mommy, can Mikaru come to the mall with us?" Kira inquires, putting on her favorite motorcycle jacket given to her by her father on her third birthday. It is a black leather jacket with a red butterfly sewn onto it.

"Mikaru is at school. Maybe another time."

"Ok." Rina and Kira get into Rina's new black mustang convertible, which is decorated with flame decals on both sides, and in less than fifteen minutes, they arrive at the mall. After finding a parking spot, they head towards the mall's entrance.

"Can we go to the toy store Mommy?" Kira asks hopefully.

"You bet we can." Rina says, smiling as she playfully ruffles her daughter's hair.

For the next couple of hours, Rina and Kira walk around the mall, making purchases at a variety of stores. Rina glances at her watch and notices that it's getting close to lunch time.

"Hey sweetie, are you getting hungry?" She questions curiously.

"Yeah Mommy. My tummy's roaring at me." She answers, referring to her belly's rumbling as though it was a lion.

"OK, I think the food court is just up ahead. We'll eat lunch there." Rina replies.

Together the two green haired girls walk to the food court. As they go Rina takes notice of the fact that many of the males there are checking her out. She ignores their stares and continues on to the food court. Once they get there, Rina asks Kira what she would like to eat.

"I want French fries." She answers eagerly.

Rina shakes her head and sighs as she heads towards a fast food restaurant to get Kira one of her favorite foods. While standing in the line to order Kira notices what appears to be a man dressed in a low-cut pink blouse and a dark blue skirt standing several feet away from her. Curious, she tugs on Rina's arm.

"Mommy, why is that man wearing girl's clothes?" She asks innocently.

Rina flushes in embarrassment since it is apparent that the man has also heard her daughter's question. Fortunately for them, he just smiles back at the two mermaids before returning his attention back to his companion.

Rina looks at Kira. "That's just the way he chooses to dress, that's all." Rina explains.

"I think it looks kinda weird. He's a boy. Why does he want to wear girl's clothes?" She questions again.

"Like I said sweetie, that's just the way he prefers to dress himself. Just because you find it weird doesn't mean that everyone else does."

Rina is relieved to see that her turn to order has finally come. She orders a chicken tenders meal with a bottle of water for herself and a large order of fries and apple juice for Kira. Rina pays for the meals and steps to the side to wait for it. A few minutes later they have their food and Rina follows Kira as she picks out a table near the large merry-go-round in the center of the food court.

"Can I ride on the merry-go-round?" Kira asks hopefully. "It looks so fun!"

"After you finish eating your lunch you can." Rina replies.

After emptying several packets of ketchup onto a napkin Kira happily digs into her fries. Rina watches as her daughter makes quick work of the potatoes. Once both mermaids have finished eating Rina buys tickets for her and Kira to ride the merry-go-round. Rina smiles as she watches Kira run over and jump on a dolphin.

"Heehee, he is just like Momo-chan." She says innocently.

Rina smiles back at her. "Yes he is." She agrees softly as she takes a seat in a coach being pulled by a team of horses.

They ride the merry-go-round two more times before continuing to shop. After they visit several more stores, the green pearl Princess notices that Kira is quickly running out of energy. They decide to head home and relax for the remainder of the day until Masahiro returned home.

On the way home, as Kira looks out her window, she sees a pet shop straight ahead, on the left side.

"Mommy, can we go to the pet store?"

" Sure. We are not getting a dog though. I already told you that, so don't ask for one again."

"Ok, Mommy." Rina drives up to the pet shop, looking for a place to park. After parking, she and her daughter walk into the building.

They look at several kinds of animals and as they're looking at the cats, a tiny orange kitten catches Kira's attention.

"Mommy, can we get this kitty?" Kira says, barely able to contain the excitement in her voice.

"Are you sure? Cats are a big responsibility. You have to feed it, change its litter box, and a bunch of other stuff."

"Please! I'll take care of it."

"Ok. We'll get the cat." Rina and Kira make their way to the checkout counter, telling one of the employees they want to adopt the cat. The worker goes to retrieve the small animal, and as he is doing so, Rina picks up a few things for the kitten and sets them on the counter.

"Is that all, Miss?" the young man asks.

"Yes." Rina replies, getting her money from her purse.

"That'll be ¥8,312.17." Rina pays for everything, and she and Kira leave the store and drive home with the newest member of their family.

_**Yay! We're done. Lol! We hope you enjoy it. Note: ¥8,312.17 approximately 75.50**_


	11. Chapter 11

**_Warnings: Foul language and sexual content!_**

**_Chapter 11_**

_"Yume no owari wo negau no wa naze?  
Arehateta basho ni mo hana wa saku no ni  
Nanairo no kaze, nanairo no sora  
Kibou wa sekai ni afureteru no ni_

_Machigaeta yume wo miteta dake  
Ai no arikaya kioku no nazoto  
Tsuki sasaru tsumetai kodoku ni  
Anata wa kurushindeta no_

_Junbaku no...  
Tsubasa wo yasumete, yasashiku nemutte  
''Ikitai'' to negai umareta deshou... saa  
Kibou no kaneoto saigo no uta wo ima  
Tsuyoi mono dakedo sekai ja nai kara.  
LISTEN TO MY LOVE... kono uta wo...  
Love Shower Pitch!"_ the mermaid Princesses shout in unison as they bring another idol concert to an end.

As the girls relax backstage Rina stands up and asks for everyone's attention. "In two days I'm going to visit my kingdom to introduce them to Kira." She begins. "But before we go, I'm going to have a small dinner party."

"Oh, that sounds like fun!" Coco chirps merrily. "We'll be there!"

"Count Kaito and me in as well." Lucia adds happily.

The other mermaids also say that they will be attending the party. Rina smiles happily as she acknowledges them. She then walks over to where Noel is sitting.

"Hey Noel, I was wondering if you'd like to join Kira and me on our trip?" She asks hopefully.

"Sure, I'd love to come." The aiiro Princess replies happily. "I'll just tell Kenji that I have to do something related to the group and that I have to go out of town for a few days to do it."

The mermaids finish changing and after saying good-bye to each other they leave for their respective homes.

The following day, Rina and Kira are in the kitchen getting ready for the party. Masahiro is the living room watching TV in anticipation of the guest's arrival.

"Hey mommy, will Kotaro and Tai come too?" Kira questions hopefully.

"They sure will, sweetie." Rina replies with a smile.  
Kira giggles and runs off to watch TV with her father.

Twenty minutes later the first guests ring the doorbell. Masahiro gets up and answers the door, welcoming Hanon and Nagisa inside.

An hour later, the party is in full swing. Kira is happily playing with Kotaro and Tai when she hears her kitty meowing from under her bed.

"Hey that sounds like a cat? Do you have a pet cat Kira?" Kotaro questions curiously.

"Yep, here I'll show you." She replies, reaching under her bed and withdrawing the small orange tabby.

"Aww…, he's so cute!" Tai squeals in delight. "Can I pet him?"

"For your information, she's a girl." Kira explains. "But yeah, you can pet her."

Coco, who is just returning from using the bathroom hears the kids and decides to see what all the fuss is about.

"Whatcha got there?" The yellow pearl Princess asks as she steps into Kira's room.

"It's Kira's pet kitty." Kotaro answers.

"Oh, you have a pet?" Coco queries curiously. "What's his name?"

"She's a girl." Tai corrects. "Kira-chan already yelled at me about that once."

"Oh, sorry. So, what's her name then?" Coco asks.

"Umm…, I really haven't thought about a name yet." Kira replies softly.

Coco looks closely and the small purring feline. She stands back up and pauses for a moment.

"How about you name her Tora? She looks just like a tiny tiger after all."  
A bright smile fills Kira's face.

"Yeah, Tora is a good name! Thanks Coco-san."

"You're welcome Kira-chan."

After petting Tora for a little while longer Coco heads back down to the party leaving the kids to play with the kitten.

The party continues for a few hours more and soon, everyone leaves and Rina and Masahiro tuck their little girl and the kitten into bed.

Morning arrives and Rina and Kira are preparing to leave for Rina's kingdom.

"We'll be back in a couple of days." Rina tells her husband before giving him a quick kiss.

"Yeah Daddy, I'm gonna miss you too." Kira says sadly.

"I wish you could come with us."

"Maybe someday I can." Masahiro replies, ruffling the girls long emerald green hair.

"Come on Kira, we have a long swim ahead of us." Rina says plainly.

"OK mommy, I'm coming."

Both girls walk quickly out onto the beach and after checking to see that no one is looking, they enter the water. Their transformation only takes seconds and they swim off.

As they head towards the deep ocean waters Rina looks at Kira, amazed at how much like her self her daughter looks. She takes hold of the young mermaid's hand and together, they swim toward their kingdom.  
It takes them a while to arrive at the kingdom of the North Atlantic Ocean. Along the way, Kira meets many of the sea's creatures. She enjoys a ride on Rina's companion, Minke the whale.

As they approach the glowing castle, Rina is met by Shiori, her most trusted advisor.

"Welcome back Princess Rina-sama! I'm so happy that you have come." She says as she bows in respect. "And you must be Princess Kira-san."

"Yes." Kira answers shyly as she tries to hide behind Rina.

Shiori returns her attention back to Rina.

"Everything has been prepared for Princess Kira's pearl ceremony. We've planned it for tomorrow at noon so that you may have the remainder of the day to relax and show Kira-chan our kingdom."

"Thank you Shiori-chan for all that you've done." Rina replies.

Shiori bows once again before turning and swimming away.

After resting, Rina gives Kira a tour of the palace and the surrounding areas.

"Would you like to see the throne room?" Rina asks curiously.

"Sure Mommy!" Kira replies cheerfully.

As the two mermaids make their way through the kingdom Kira notices something.

"Mommy, why does everyone bow and swim out of our way? How come nobody comes over and says hi? Don't they like us?"  
Rina chuckles at her daughter's question.

"It's not that they don't like us." She begins. "It's just that I am their Princess and they are showing their respect by bowing and giving us some space."

"Does that mean I'm a Princess too?"

"Yes it does." Rina answers.

"Cool! I can't wait to get back and make Tai and Kotaro bow to me!" Kira giggles merrily.

"Well, Kotaro is actually a Prince himself." Rina informs. "Since Lucia is a Princess just as I am."

"Aww.., I wanted to make him bow to me." Kira pouts.

"Hey, what about Tai, is he a Prince too?"

"No, but you really shouldn't force people to respect you." Rina replies. "People should respect you of their own desire, not because they have to."

"Alright mommy." Kira sighs.

A short time later they swim into a lavishly decorated room. The high arched ceilings add an almost cathedral like appearance. At the end of the room is a large chair decorated in jewels and gleaming metals.

"Is… is that your chair mommy?" Kira asks in amazement.

"Well, that's the throne where the ruler of our kingdom sits. And since that person is currently me, then yes it is my chair." Rina answers.

"Can I sit on it? Please?"

"Sure sweetie, have fun!" Rina replies. She smiles happily as Kira swims over to the large throne and sits down.

"Do I look like a Princess now mommy?"

"You sure do sweetie!" Rina playfully bows to her daughter. "I bow to you Princess Kira-sama!" She adds with a smile.

Kira beams happily as she watches her mother bow.  
After another ten minutes of exploring the throne room, Kira and Rina decide to explore the rest of the castle and then grab some snacks.

They have just finished eating their snack when Shiori swims up. She bows before addressing Rina. "Princess Rina-sama, I've come with a request from Captain Misao of the castle guards. She would like to have you inspect her elite guards if you could."

Rina considers the request for a moment. "Please inform Captain Misao that not only will I inspect her guards, but their future Princess will as well."

"Of course, Your Highness. I will inform her right away." Shiori responds. After another bow, the elder mermaid swims off.

A few minutes later the two mermaid Princesses are on a large field and before them stand fifty of the castle's most elite guards. Kira follows her mother in approaching each mermaid and merman, greeting them and then looking them over. Kira watches in curiosity as each guard answers the questions her mother asks. She also marvels at the brightly colored armor the guards wear. To Kira, it looks like something out of one of the books she'd been read.

As evening approaches, a large banquet is being prepared in honor of Kira's upcoming pearl ceremony. Rina was never a big fan of all the things that went along with being a Princess and tonight's affair would be no exception.

Rina and Kira wait in the beautifully decorated hall, along with Shiori. Finally after what seems like forever the two mermaid Princesses are introduced amongst great fanfare. Rina and Kira swim to the center of a large table and wait for the applause to die down.

"Thank you for the warm welcome!" Rina begins, trying her best to sound as proper as she can. "On the behalf of my daughter Kira, I welcome you to her ceremonial banquet. Please enjoy!"

With those words servants began to bring out lavish carts filled with all kinds of seafood. Kira wrinkles her nose as a plate is placed before her.

"Mommy, I don't wanna eat this. Don't they have any French fries?" She says plainly.

"Sorry Kira, but French fries are only in the human world." Rina informs. "Try some of the food; I'm sure that you will find something you like."

"Aww..," Kira sighs as she examines the plate in front of her. "It all looks so yucky."

As the evening wears on, Kira becomes more and more restless. Finally after having to endure several very long winded speeches from some of the kingdom's elders and advisors, the banquet comes to an end. Rina and Kira head back to their room to sleep. Once inside, Kira looks at Rina curiously.

"What's gonna happen tomorrow mommy?" She asked curiously. "Will it be as boring as it was today?"  
Rina chuckles softly. "No, tomorrow will be a more exciting day."

With that Kira places her head down on the soft pillow and closes her eyes to sleep. Rina watches for a short while, making sure that Kira has fallen asleep before she climbs in bed herself.

_"I hope you're doing alright Masahiro. We'll be back soon!"_ Rina thinks as she slowly closes her eyes. _"We love and miss you…"_

The following day begins with Rina and Kira being escorted to the dining room area for breakfast. And much to Rina's delight sitting in the middle of the delegation is Noel!

Kira's face lights up upon seeing the aiiro Princess smiling back at her. "Look mommy Auntie Noel is here!"

"Yes she is." Rina answers happily as she and Kira swim over to the deep blue mermaid.

After the breakfast, Noel joins Rina in getting Kira ready for her ceremony. They dress her in a formal gown and add some seashell accents to her hair, which is tied back into a ponytail.

"Do I have to wear a dress?" The young mermaid complains. "I hate dresses! They're so girly."

"You have to for this Kira." Noel explains. "Just bear with it for a little longer, OK?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Kira sighs softly.

A short time later, Shiori summons the three mermaids to a room just outside the throne room.

"Please remain here with Princess Noel-sama." Shiori instructs Kira. The elder mermaid looks up at the aiiro Princess and smiles. "Your Highness; I will signal you when you should bring Princess Kira-sama."

"I understand." Noel replies.

Rina and Shiori head out and Rina takes her place on the throne. After some ceremonial dances, Noel leads Kira out into the center of the large room. Rina joins her best friend and together they watch as Madame Rukia, the kingdom's eldest resident performs the ceremony.

"Princess Kira- sama, please come forward and stand next to me." The elder mermaid instructs.  
Kira looks up at Noel, who smiles back at her.

"Go on Kira, it's your time to shine!"

Kira nods and swims nervously to where Madame Rukia is standing. She swims over and stops just a few feet away from the white haired mermaid. Madame Rukia moves to stand just before the young green haired girl.

The elder mermaid then turns to one of her aides standing next to her. She removes Kira's seashell necklace from an emerald green satin pillow, she than turns and once again faces Kira.

"Princess-sama, I hold in my hand your pearl tear. While it is true that you are a Princess, you may note that your seashell necklace lacks the accents which adorn you mothers. Once she steps down and you ascend to the throne a ceremony will be performed and you will receive the adornments that designate a ruling Princess!" Madame Rukia explains carefully.  
Kira nods as the elder mermaid speaks.

"Now, your Highness, please step forward to accept your pearl." Madame Rukia instructs.

Kira swims slightly forward and leans down to allow the elder mermaid to place her seashell necklace around her neck.

Loud applause fills the hall as Rina and Noel join Kira and face the spectators.

Kira looks down at the pretty seashell necklace that she now wears. Inside is her very own pearl tear. Once her mother stepped down as the leader of the Kingdom of the North Atlantic Ocean, Kira would rise and fill her mother's place. At that time her pearl would go through a transformation, allowing her to become the next Green Pearl Voice.

Meanwhile, back at Pearl Piari, the Mermaid Princesses, their husbands and boyfriends, and their children are in the main room laughing and having an interesting conversation about baby names and other random things.

"When we have our first child, boy or girl, we're gonna call it Shithead. Cool, huh?" Hideki says, trying to keep himself from laughing.

"No. That's not cool, you idiot." Lucia replies.

"Are you frickin' serious? Shithead?! Poor kid!" Hanon says in disgust at the horrible name the young boy has mentioned.

"We're actually gonna pronounce it Sha-teed. What's wrong with it?" Seira gives him her evil death glare and playfully whacks him upside the head.

"Don't count on it, Mister!"

"I agree with Seira, Hideki. That is terrible! Please, please, for the sake of your kid, don't name him or her that name. I can just imagine all the teasing and ridicule that kid would go through once he or she starts school not to mention pronunciation problems." Caren adds.

"I don't like it either. How about something normal like Amaya or Sakura for a girl and Katsu or Raiden for a boy?" Coco suggests.

The conversation goes on for a few minutes and suddenly, one of the children comes running into the room from outside hiding something in his hands.

"Mommy, look!"

"What is it, Aki?" Caren inquires.

"I got a frog." The two year old responds.

"Wow! Cool."

"Yeah. Guess frog's name, Mommy."

"I don't know. What's his name, Sweetie?"

"Phuc!" He answers innocently. Everyone looks at the child in shock and falls down anime style. Caren soon regains her composure and clears her throat before beginning to speak.

"No, Akira. That is a bad word. You're not allowed to say things like that."

"I sowwy Mommy."

"Thank you. Don't say it again, ok? Next time you say it, you're gonna get a time-out."

"Ok. I take frog out now. I go scare Emi." Aki quickly hugs his mother and runs back outside to play.

_"Where the heck did he come up with that word?"_

Back at Rina's kingdom, Rina, Kira and Noel are getting ready to return home. They say their good-byes and head towards the sea.

"So, Rina, have you and Masahiro ever talked about having another child?" Noel asks, trying to start up a conversation. Rina looks over at her best friend and back down at her daughter who has fallen asleep in her arms.

"No. Not yet." The green pearl Princess responds.

"Don't you want Kira to have a sibling to play with?"

"It's not that. I want Kira to have a new brother or sister. It's just that I'm worried about what Masahiro would think and Kira too. She's been an only child for so long. I don't know how she would react to having a new person in our family and having to share the attention." The aiiro pearl Princess smiles, gently placing a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"It'll be fine. Trust me. Masahiro loves you and he loves Kira so he'll love that new baby too. Kira will be fine too. She'll just need some time to adjust, that's all."

"You're right. I'll talk to Masahiro about it tonight. Thank you."

"You're welcome! If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here for you."

The two Mermaid Princesses continue to talk and before they know it, they reach the surface. They step out of the cool water and onto the beach and they walk the rest of the way to Rina's house.

As they walk up the driveway, Rina reaches inside the right side pocket of her jeans and pulls out the key to the front door. Just as she is about to put the key in the lock, the door opens.

"Hey, Honey. How was your trip?" Masahiro asks as he embraces his wife, being careful not to disturb their still sleeping child.

"It was good." Rina replies. "Kira loved it."

"That's great! I knew she would." Rina carries Kira over to the couch and she and Masahiro gently put her down, give her a kiss and place a blanket on her.

"I'm gonna go start dinner, ok Sweetie." Masahiro says as he makes his way towards the kitchen.

"Noel, would you like to stay for dinner?" Rina asks.

"No thank you. I better get home. Carina needs me."

"Ok. Talk to you later. Say 'hi' to Kenji for me."

"Ok. I will. Bye!" Noel gives her friend a hug and goes out to her car, waving before she drives away.

Later that evening, Rina and Masahiro have just tucked Kira into bed for the night and they are now in their own bedroom getting ready for bed.

"Masahiro?"

"What is it?"

"What do you think about us adding a new member to our family?"

"What do you mean?"

"A baby, Masahiro. I want to have another child." Masahiro looks at his wife and places his hands on her shoulders.

"Baby, I can't put you through that again. Remember what happened last time? It took a lot out of you." Rina glares at him for a moment and then tries to reason with him.

"Please. I want to try again! I want Kira to have a sibling to play with. I don't want her to be an only child."

"Ok. Let's do it!" To Rina's delight, Masahiro smiles at her and wraps his arms around her waist, kissing her passionately on the lips. She returns the kiss and begins undoing the buttons on her husband's shirt, removing it and tossing it into a corner. She then moves down to his pants and removes them as well, and then orders him to undress her. He lets out a perverted grin and carries out her request. Once they are both naked, they lie down on the bed and continue to kiss.

Masahiro breaks the kiss and turns his attention to Rina's breasts. He takes one of the breasts into his hands and begins massaging them, causing her to moan with pleasure and then he does the same to her other breast. Rina feels her husband's lips gently press against her soft mounds and pulls him into a passionate embrace.

"Please hold me." Rina coos as she wraps her arms around him. "I never want to be apart from you."

"Neither do I Rina, I love you more than life itself." He says as he wraps his arms around her and pulls her tightly up against him. "Oh, you are so pretty." He slowly brings his hands up and begins to softly rub her tummy.

The feeling running through the Princess's body is unlike anything she's ever experienced in her life. She takes Masahiro's hand and brings it up to her breast and with a smile she encourages him to continue touching her.

Masahiro continues to massage her breasts gently, finding her nipple and rubbing his thumb over the top of it. The effect is immediate and Rina moans softly.

"Oh, yes Masahiro, more please." He leans forward and places his lips passionately on Rina's, kissing her deeply.  
Masahiro continues to kiss her, making a trail down her stomach and stopping right above her moist womanhood.

"Rina are you sure you want to do this? After we do it there's no turning back, you know that right?" Masahiro asks gently.

"I love you Masahiro, and I want to share everything with you. I want this," whispers the green haired girl.

Masahiro continues to kiss her, gently working his way down her leg and on to her inner thigh. They continue to kiss and play for a little while longer.

"Are you ready?" Masahiro asks softly, running a couple of sweet kisses along her neck.

"Yes… I am" Rina answers passionately.  
The green haired mermaid spreads her legs and welcomes her husband. He moves in between her legs and rubs his erect member between her dripping petals. He slowly begins to fill her, rocking back and forth as he does.

Rina feels him inside her and Masahiro continues his penetration until he completely fills her.

"Faster…" Rina moans, as her husband increases the speed of his thrusts. She begins to adjust to his rhythm and begins to move her hips along with him.

She can feel every inch of him rubbing against her inner walls and she gasps as he hits a sensitive spot. She moans loudly before pressing her lips onto his.

His tongue thrusts into her mouth, mimicking the movements of their lower bodies. Rina can't take it any longer as a strong sensation begins to burn between her legs. She screams out loud as the powerful orgasm takes over. Seconds later, he releases his seed into her.  
He thrusts into her a few more times and pulls out. Afterwards, they collapse and just lay there, sweaty and tired and trying to catch their breaths.

"I love you Masahiro." Rina mumbles lovingly.

"I love you too Rina." Masahiro replies, leaning forward and kissing her softly.

**_Sorry for taking so long to update. Lol! We've been really busy with other stuff lately and we had really bad writer's block._**

**_Just to clear some things up:_**

**_Phuc is a real name. It is Southern Vietnamese, meaning "blessing". It is pronounced similar to the English word "fuck", but not quite. It is pronounced like "fook", said like "look" but with an f._**

**_Shithead too is a real name. Sad, but true. We saw a video on YouTube where this lady is talking about a bunch of really screwed up names. This woman has a friend that volunteered for Girl Scouts and she heard from another person who is an OB-GYN nurse. Anyways, a 14 year old girl, poorly educated, low income family, comes into the hospital where that nurse works and has a baby boy._**

**_She says to the nurse "Hey, Guess what? I just made up the perfect name for my baby." The nurse says "Oh really? What is it?" or something along those lines and the girl says "Shithead", pronouncing it as Sha-teed. The nurse says "Wow! Very creative! Ummm… How do you plan on spelling it?" The girl replies "S-h-i-t-h-e-a-d" Poor kid…Can't believe the hospital staff or the little girl's mother didn't inform her that she was just about to name her kid "shit head" _**


	12. Chapter 12

_**Sorry for the late update. Lol! Real life has been getting in our way and evil writer's block hasn't helped any either.**_

_**Warnings: Harsh language and mild nudity. Read at your own risk!**_

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_**Chapter 12**_

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Rina wakes the following morning to the sounds of Masahiro's soft snoring. She rolls to her side and smiles at the sleeping man next to her. Careful not to wake him, she slides out of bed and grabs her robe from its place on a chair next to the bed.

The green haired girl walks into the bathroom and closes the door. She then turns the water on and once the water is warm enough, Rina removes her robe and steps into the flowing water. She transforms into her mermaid form and begins to wash herself off.

She rinses and then grabs a towel from the rack, wrapping it around her body to absorb the excess water and dry herself off and walks to the sink. She plugs in the blow dryer and sets it on 'High', allowing the noisy appliance to dry her hair rapidly. She brushes her teeth and makes her way back into the bedroom. She looks over at the bed and notices that her husband must have gotten up while she was showering.

Heading downstairs, the green pearl Princess can smell the aroma of bacon, eggs, cinnamon rolls, and coffee being prepared in the kitchen. She walks in the the kitchen and smiles at the green haired man standing in front of the stove.

"Good morning Rina!" He says happily before returning his attention to the pan in front of him.

"G-morning mommy!" Kira chirps, waving to Rina from her spot at the table.

"Good morning, Masahiro. Good morning, Kira." Rina replies. "Mmm, that smells good!"

Masahiro smiles back at his wife and daughter.

"I'll have breakfast ready in just a few minutes."

Rina watches as her husband finishes preparing the family's morning meal. Then, after serving them, he sits down and joins them.

They recite a short prayer and happily dig in.

After breakfast is finished, Masahiro looks over at Kira and smiles softly at the young girl. "Kira, how would you like to have a brother or sister?"

"What do we need another baby for? You already got one." Kira replies, wrinkling her nose in disapproval.

"Well, your Mommy and I were talking last night and we decided we want to have another one."

"Why can't we just get a dog instead? I don't want a new baby."

"Why don't you want a new baby?" Masahiro asks.

"'Cuz I don't! That's why!" Kira gets up from the table and runs into the living room and up the stairs towards her room.

"Kira, come back here!" Rina shouts, running after her and quickly catching up.

"NO! Leave me the hell alone, you stupid bitch! God damn it!"

"Kira Noel Hamasaki, watch your language!" Rina warns, mentally plotting ways to get back at Seira's boyfriend for teaching her daughter such awful words.

"No. I don't have to listen to you anymore!"

"Yes you do! I am your mother."

"No you're not, 'cuz I don't even like you anymore! I _HATE_ you!"

"So what! You can hate me all you want, but this is my house and you will do as I say!"

"Shut up!" Kira slams the door, the sound echoing throughout the house. The green pearl Princess sighs, walking back downstairs to cool off. As she makes her way into the living room, she sees a familiar visitor sitting on the couch.

"Hey, Noel." She says, forcing a smile.

"Hey! What was that all about?" The aiiro Princess inquires, a curious expression appearing on her face.

"Oh, you mean the noise? Long story..."

"Did you tell her yet?" Rina nods in response to her friend's question.

"Unfortunately. I thought she'd be excited about getting a new sibling, but she totally blew up in our faces."

"You just caught her by surprise, that's all. She'll get used to the idea eventually. Just give her some time."

"You're right. Thanks."

"You're welcome. That's what friends are for."

"So, you ready to go?" The green haired mermaid grabs her purse from the coffee table, adjusting the strap over her left shoulder.

"Yeah. What about Kira? Would she like to go with us?"

"Hold on. I'll go check." Rina goes up to her daughter's room, knocking lightly on the door.

"What do you want?!" The child's voice shouts from inside.

"I'm going shopping with Auntie Noel. Do you want to come?"

"Why should I?"

"If you come, I promise I'll buy you some ice cream with those candy sprinkles you like." Rina bribes, hoping that this will get Kira's attention. To her surprise, it works. Kira comes out of her room and she and her mother head out to Noel's car and the three of them drive to their favorite grocery store.

They park and get out of the vehicle, grabbing a shopping cart on their way inside the store. Rina helps Kira into the front of the cart and steers toward the fruit and vegetable aisle. She and Noel pick some of their favorite fruits and veggies, encouraging Kira to point out what she likes as well.

They finish putting them in the cart and go to the next aisle. They continue to shop, loading up with healthy food for their families, pet food, toiletries and other important items and after paying for the groceries, they do what Rina promised to Kira. They put everything in the car and drive a few blocks down the road to the ice cream shop.

At the ice cream shop, Kira orders a small chocolate/vanilla/strawberry soft-serve covered with whipped cream, cherries and rainbow sprinkles. She eats three spoonfuls, and no longer feeling up to eating anything else, she begins playing with her ice cream.

"Kira, what's the matter? Are you sick?" Rina asks, concerned about her daughter's sudden change in appetite. Kira glares at her mom for a second or two and buries her face in Noel's shirt.

"No. Leave me alone, mom." She mumbles, barely audible.

"I'll talk to her for you, Rina." Noel offers.

"Thank you." The aiiro pearl Princess takes her little 'niece' outside, gently wrapping an arm around the small girl's waist.

"Kira, are you still angry at your mom and dad?"

"Yeah." The child admits.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want them to have a new baby." Tears stream down Kira's cheeks, her face turning red as she begins sobbing softly.

"Is it because you think they're gonna love the baby more than you?" Kira nods her head 'yes' and Noel pulls her into a warm embrace. "That's not gonna happen, sweetie. Mommy and Daddy would never do that. They love you, and they always will. Nothing will ever take that away from you."

"Auntie Noel, do you promise?"

"Yes. I promise. Now, I think you owe them an apology for being so rude to them."

"Ok. I will. Thank you, Auntie Noel." She lets out a loud yawn and falls asleep. Noel carries the sleeping girl back inside and sees Rina at the counter, paying for the ice cream.

"Did you talk to her?"

"Yep! Everything's gonna be just fine. Oh, and Kira said she's sorry."

"Apology accepted."

The green pearl Princess takes her little girl from her best friend's arms and they walk to the car, getting in and driving back home.

A few days pass and Kira is in the family room playing a game of I-Spy with Tai and Kotaro.

"I spy with my little eye something red."

The children's eyes wander around the room, looking for the object Kira is thinking of.

"Is it Kitty's collar?" Tai asks, hoping he is correct.

"Yes! Your turn."

"OK. I spy something blue." Tai says.

"Umm…the curtain?" Kira replies, pointing to the turquoise colored pieces of fabric covering the windows.

"Nope. Keep guessing."

"The rug?" Kotaro guesses.

"Nope."

"I got it! " Kotaro shouts, jumping into the air in excitement. "It's that flower pot!" He says as he points towards one of the corners of the room.

"Yep!" The game goes on for a while until Kira calls a time out.

"I'll be right back. I gotta pee." Kira announces, running upstairs to the closest bathroom. When she gets there, she notices the door is closed and she can hear the shower running. She knocks a couple times, waiting for a response.

"What is it?" The voice of a young woman inquires.

"It's Kira. I gotta use the bathroom."

"OK. Come in!" Kira enters the bathroom and does her business. Not realizing what would happen if she flushed the toilet, she does, and loud screams echo throughout the room. She opens the shower curtain and to her horror, she finds Seira in mermaid form pressed tightly against her boyfriend's naked body, completely drenched with water.

"Ahhhhh!" Kira screams, shocked at what she has just seen.

"Oh shit!" Hideki shouts, trying to cover up his private part and hoping the small child didn't notice it.

"Why are you taking a shower together?" Kira asks with a curious expression on her face, her left hand on her chin.

"Uh...We thought that if we did that, we'd save more water." Hideki replies, half lying and half truthfully.

"Forget you saw any of this, okay Kira?" Seira adds. The three-year-old nods and quickly runs out of the bathroom, trying to erase this incident from her fragile little mind.

"Whew! That was so close!" Seira says, her hands over her rapidly beating heart as she tries to catch her breath. The orange pearl Princess turns off the water and grabs two towels from the towel rack, giving one to her boyfriend. They wrap their towels around themselves to dry off and she transforms back into her human form. They then make their way into one of the spare bed rooms to get dressed.

Seira focuses her attention on the outfit she has lying on the bed and puts it on. She wears a white halter top with orange and red flowers printed all over it and a navy blue denim miniskirt with a jeweled belt. On her feet she wears a pair of orange flip-flops. She brushes her still damp hair, leaving it down as usual and sprays a light mist of citrus scented body spray all over herself, making sure not to spray too much and stink up the room. Hideki wears a black t-shirt with the Jack Daniels® logo on it and baggy blue Calvin Klein® jeans. He slips on his socks and puts on his favorite shoes, a pair of tan-colored steel toe boots and then he sprays on some mens musk scented cologne.

A few moments later, the young couple make their way downstairs and into the living room. Seira grabs her purse, heading for the front door.

"We're going now, Rina. See ya later!" the orange haired girl shouts, taking her bad-ass boyfriend by the hand.

"OK, bye! Don't get into any trouble, you hear me?" the green pearl Princess replies.

"Yes Mother dear." Hideki replies sarcastically. The two teens exit the house and get into Hideki's red Dodge Viper convertible to go to the mall.

Rina and Masahiro go back to watching their movie in the family room with Kira, Tai and Kotaro. Out of nowhere, Kira grows bored and asks a question that catches her parents completely off guard.

"Daddy, where do babies come from?"

"Um, ah... ask your mother." Masahiro replies quickly. "She can explain it better than I can." He adds nervously.

Kira looks up innocently at Rina and asks the same question.

"Mommy where do babies come from?"

"Well, sweetie." Rina begins, lifting the young child up on the couch and sitting her down next to her. "It all starts out when two people really love each other."

"I really love Tai. Does that mean I can get a baby from him?" Kira asks innocently.

"Um, not quite dear. They have to be grown ups like daddy and me."

"Oh OK!" Kira says with a cute smile. "But how does the baby get in the mommy's belly?"

"That's a little complicated sweetie. But I'll try and break it down as best I can."

Kira looks up at her mother intently, her greenish colored eyes sparkling in the light.

"OK mommy. And I wanna know the truth, not a story!"

"Sure thing dear." Rina answers in a slightly nervous tone.

Kira sits back and listens quietly as the green pearl Princess gives a kid friendly explanation of sex and just how an infant develops in the womb.

"But how does the baby get inside you mommy? Did Daddy put me inside you?" She asks curiously.

"I guess you could say that." Rina replies, wondering what question her daughter might ask next.

"Did it hurt when daddy did that?"

"No it didn't. In fact it felt wonderful."

"But where did he put me in you at?"

"Um .., well that's a special place that only a daddy can see."

But wasn't I too big to go in your belly?"

"No. When a baby first begins its life, it is very tiny. So it's easy for the daddy to put the baby in the mommy's belly." Rina explains.

Kira smiles and hops down off the couch.

"Oh OK! Thanks for telling me the truth mommy."

"You're welcome Kira." Rina replies with a smile. She watches as Kira runs to the other side of the room and re-joins Kotaro and Tai, who are playing a game of chutes and ladders.

Meanwhile, at the mall, the orange pearl Princess and her boyfriend are at GameStop buying new games and accessories for Hideki's Playstation 3 and X-Box 360 game systems.

"Hideki, look at this!" Seira shouts, picking up a PS3 game from one of the shelves.

"Burnout Paradise? Sweet! I've been looking all over for it. Hey, should we buy Kira a copy too?" He replies.

"Yeah. She'd love it." The teenagers put the two game boxes on the checkout counter and put the rest of their merchandise up to pay for it.

"Is that it?" The cashier inquires. Seira nods as Hideki pulls his wallet from the front right pocket of his jeans and takes out some money. "That'll be ¥62266.50 (approximately 600 dollars)"

"Holy crap!" Seira exclaims, surprised at how much everything costs. She and her boyfriend decide to split the amount equally between themselves and pay for their stuff.

They leave the video game store and make their way towards Borders to buy some manga. As they walk near the store, they accidentally run into someone, knocking the shopping bags from their hands.

"I'm sorry, Seira-san and Hideki-san! Please forgive me!" A high pitched voice squeals.

"Hippo?" Seira looks down, seeing the squeaky voiced penguin, now in human form, standing in front of her. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, not much. I'm just looking around."

"Why don't you come with us? We were just going into the book store and then we're gonna eat lunch. Want to?"

"Sure." Hippo walks with the youngsters into Borders and they browse the manga section, selecting several books from the shelves and looking at the back covers for the prices. Satisfied, they pay for them and head towards the food court. When they get there, Hippo is surprised by what he sees. At one of the tables, sitting by herself and eating a plate of pot stickers is a young yellowish green haired girl wearing a long red dress.

"Yūri-san?" The girl hears her name being called and looks up in shock.

"_Is that him?"_ She glances at him, confirming her answer. "Hippo-san!"

"Yūri-san!" They run towards each other, laughing excitedly.

"Ahhhh... Jeez! Enough with the lovey-dovey shit already, ok?!" Hideki complains. Seira giggles, pulling her boyfriend into a hug and planting a sweet kiss on his lips.

* * *

_**So, Hippo and Yūri meet again. What will happen? Stay tuned for the next chapter.**_


	13. Author's Note

Hi! I have decided to pick this story up again. I had a very bad case of writer's block and I gradually lost interest in Mermaid Melody (I'm slowly getting back into it again), so this was put on the back burner for a long time. But I'm back, and I will try to post the next chapter soon.

* * *

Thanks!

- Laney


	14. Chapter 13

**Challenges**

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Chapter 13

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"How have you been, Yūri-san? It's been so long." Hippo asks, taking a sip of his tea.

"I'm fine, Hippo-san. What's new with you?" She replies back. It has been many years since they'd been together. How long, neither of them know, but they are overjoyed to meet again.

"A lot." He explains as he brings her up to speed, telling her about the Mermaid Princesses' music career and their families, as well as his own things.

"Really? Wow! I never imagined that the girls would be married or have children so soon. I'm glad you're well."

"Thank you." They become so into their conversation that they don't notice Seira grab Hideki's hand and drag him away.

"Ouch! What was that all about?" Hideki complains half-heartedly. The orange haired girl pulls him close to her, planting a kiss on his lips.

"I thought you and I could use some time to ourselves as well. You don't wanna watch the penguin and that Yūri girl all day, do ya?"

"No, I guess not." He says with a nervous chuckle. Then he returns the kiss and gently runs his fingers through her hair. 'God, she's so fucking hot when she does that.'

A few shoppers pass by them, some smiling, while others wrinkle their noses at this public display of affection. The couple blush a deep red color as they realize they attracted an audience and pull away. Then they hold hands as they stroll past more shops without a care in the world.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kira, Tai, and Kotaro are engaged in a game of whiffle ball in the hallway outside Kira's room. Kira grins mischievously as she pitches one of her best throws towards Kotaro. He swings, but narrowly misses the ball. Tai tosses it back to her and she pitches again. This time he hits it. The three children gasp as the ball collides with a light green vase filled with lilies, sending it crashing to the floor. It shatters into pieces and water splashes all over the place.

"What was that noise?" Masahiro questions as he rushes up from the living room.

"I'm sorry, Daddy. We didn't mean to break Mommy's vase. We were just playing and it crashed on the floor." Kira replied, her eyes filling with tears.

"It's okay, Kira." He attempts to reassure his daughter and pulls her into a hug.

"Really?"

"Yes, I'm very relieved you kids aren't hurt. I can always buy another vase and more flowers, but you can never be replaced."

"Are we in trouble?" Tai asked.

"Yeah," Masahiro confirms. "You know you aren't supposed to play ball in the house, but you did it anyway. All three of you need to go to the naughty corners." He leads them downstairs and points toward three corners in the living room. Each child walks to his or her corner and Masahiro kneels down to Kira's level to prevent himself from intimidating her.

"I put you in the naughty corner because you played whiffle ball in the house after Mommy and I told you not to and that is unacceptable. You need to sit here until I come back and get you." Kira nods, wiping the tears away as Masahiro explains the same thing to the boys. He sets the timer on his watch and three minutes later, he returns to Kira's corner and explains again why he put her there and follows through with the discipline, attempting to get her apology.

"Sorry."

"That a girl." The little girl hugs him and goes to her room play with other toys. He finishes the time-out with the boys as well and they follow suit.

He goes into the den where Rina is sitting on the couch, watching a show on the Investigation Discovery channel called Deadly Women, a documentary series about women who kill. The green haired woman glances up at him as he takes his seat next to her and wraps his arms around her.

"What was that about?" She asks him, wondering about the incident her husband has just dealt with.

"The kids were playing ball in the house again after you specifically told them not to." Rina sighs.

"You handled it, right?"

"Yes."

"Good." She leans against him and rests her head on his chest as they continue watching the show, while keeping an ear out for their daughter and her 'cousins'.

* * *

An hour later, Lucia and Nikora arrive to pick up their sons.

"Boys, your moms are here!" Rina hollers. Tai and Kotaro race out of Kira's room with Kira running not far behind them. Kira sits on her father's lap while the boys run toward their respective mothers.

"How were they? I hope they didn't cause any trouble." Nikora says as Tai begs to be picked up. She scoops up the five year-old and rustles his hair. "Hey buddy!"

"No, they were fine. They had a great time." Rina tells her, not feeling the need to say anything about the incident to them, as it had already been handled appropriately.

"That's good." Lucia says. As she finishes answering, Kotaro tugs on her shirt in an effort to get her attention.

"What is it?"

"Can I sleep over?" Her son pleads, giving his mother the sad puppy look.

"Not tonight. I wish you could, but I have to get up early tomorrow. I have things to do." Rina responds. She feels a little twinge of guilt building up in her heart, but she had made plans months in advance to record more songs with the rest of the Mermaids for their next album, which is scheduled to be released in the next two weeks, just in time for their first world tour.

"Awww man!" The four year-old whines.

"Hey, I promise you that before we go on our trip, you can sleep over and hang out with Kira. Is that alright with you?" The green pearl Princess offers.

"Okay, Aunt Rina." Nikora and Lucia say their goodbyes and buckle their sons into their car seats and drive off.

* * *

"Mommy, I'm hungry." Kira states as she hears her stomach rumbling.

"What would you like to eat?"

"French fries!" The toddler pipes up, hoping her mother will give in. Rina sighs, wishing her daughter would eat something besides strips of greasy, overly salty potatoes from fast food restaurants.

"Kira, you've had fries for dinner almost every night this week. Daddy and I would appreciate it if you ate something else." She reasons, or attempts to. Kira had always been a very picky eater, but she notices that this is starting to get out of control and desperately hopes that the little girl will grow out of it. 'I need to talk to Kenji about this. Maybe he can recommend something.'

"No! I want fries." The three year-old whines.

"Please pick something else. We are not getting fries tonight." Masahiro explains firmly.

"I don't want anything else. I just want fries." Her parents remain firm and consistent and soon, Kira realizes they aren't backing down and agrees to choose something else. "What about toast?"

"Sure, kiddo, but I'd like you to eat something with it. Do you want eggs?"

"Yes, Daddy." Masahiro goes into the kitchen and grabs a frying pan and pours a small amount of oil into it. As the oil heats up, he cracks some eggs into a medium sized bowl and beats them, along with a little milk, salt, and pepper and pours the mixture into the pan. Then, he takes slices of bread and toasts and butters them, and puts them on a plate.

"Kira, you wanna help set the table?" Kira gets up off the couch and takes the plate of toast, setting it in the middle of the table. Masahiro puts the eggs on another plate and puts them in the middle table too, covering them with a lid while he cooks bacon and sausage and serves them.

"The food is done, Mommy." Kira announces proudly. Rina joins her husband and daughter at the table and they enjoy a peaceful meal together and talk about their day.

* * *

**_There we go! Finally another update after five years. I will try to write the next chapter soon, hopefully within the next month or so, not five years from now. Thank you for continuing to read this!_**


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